


Shadows

by Accentric



Category: Fairy Tail
Genre: Action & Romance, Adventure, Amnesia, Angst, Drama, F/M, Mystery, Suspense
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-23
Updated: 2016-01-23
Packaged: 2018-05-15 17:48:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 19
Words: 58,694
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5794006
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Accentric/pseuds/Accentric
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"He's coming for you." What happens when a mysterious figure gives Lucy a foreboding warning? Something dark lurks in her past, and it's time for its return. What hides in the shadow of Lucy's past?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Return of the Past

_'You cannot run from a shadow, you cannot hide from shadow. To be free from a shadow, you must first, delve into the dark.'_

"Natsu?" Lucy asked. Natsu's nose perked high in the air as team Natsu traipsed through the damp forest. Being in a rain forest wasn't the highlight of Lucy's day. Nor the fact that Natsu had probably given her dead legs for eternity; once again the dragon slayer had fallen asleep on her lap.

For some reason, it had become a frequent occurrence. Whenever they went on the train he would flop onto her lap. But the most irritation part of it was that he refused to budge. After several house of riding the train, Natsu had official destroyed Lucy's ability to walk. The stubborn dragon slayer had cut off her circulation to her legs and pins and needles prickled and tingled through her thighs, down to her calves. It was practically impossible for Lucy to walk two steps without dropping onto the floor. The warm sensation of blood flowing through her legs again soothed her, but the sharp knives stabbing her muscles dampened the feeling. In the end, Natsu - _forcefully-_ carried Lucy as a gesture of apology.

He couldn't help it. It had become natural instinct to seek out Lucy's comfortable lap when in his most vulnerable moments. She was comfy. Also the side effects of his travel sickness seemed far from important on her lap. Lucy, in a strange way, was Natsu's painkiller.

"Natsu~?" Lucy moaned again. Lucy's soft arms gently wrapped around his neck. Strong arms held her legs around his waist, her head resting on his shoulder with exhaustion. Long gold hair spilled down over his sleeveless vest, grazing his damp skin. Throughout the whole trek in the woods, Natsu had carried the stellar mage on his back. Lucy was tired and so was most of the rest. Except, predictable Natsu, was not. Full of energy, he often forgot he was holding the celestial wizard and sprinted at full speed over the damp, moss-covered forest floor, launching over trees and swinging on vines. Lucy got irritated, but no matter how much she protested the dragon slayer would _NOT_ put her down. All poor Lucy could do was cling on for dear life.

"I smell something..." Natsu's face scrunched up, grimacing at the scent.

"Does Lucy smell that bad?" Happy giggled, stifling a laugh. A sharp death glare shot his way, shutting up the cat instantly. Lucy was already in a bad mood, annoying her any further would be like signing your death wish. Slowly, Natsu's body dipped down. One arm let go of one of Lucy's legs, letting it softly touch the spongy floor. Soon after, it was followed by the other leg and Lucy gently removed her arms from his neck. Natsu's mind was preoccupied with the smell. Lucy watched his strained glance with anxiety and nervousness slowly creeping up inside her from the tension. Then again, it did every time before the big impact on a mission. Normally, all her friends would take charge and control the situation, including her and her spirits, of course. However, Natsu was being uncharacteristically cautious. Once again, it disturbed the blond mage. The dragon slayer slowly began to creep through the woods. Soon followed by the stellar mage and the rest of Team Natsu, they all lurked slowly over large tree roots and under low hanging branches.

It continued like so for about 5 minutes before Natsu suddenly ducked behind a waist high bush, dragging Lucy along with him. Everyone else crept up, keeping their head low behind the shrub top. Peering over the bush slightly the team managed to catch sight of what Natsu had hid from; it was the hideout.

Team Natsu had taken up a job looking for a gang leader. Apparently he had been caught attempting to kidnap an aristocrat's son. The handsome and looks-to-young-to-be-a-dad family head employed them, offering them a wealthy yield. Fueled by her greed, Lucy instantly accepted the job without hearing more about it. And so, Team Natsu had been clambering through this wet, soggy jungle for the hideout that was supposedly within these woods. Apparently, it was. Well at least that was what Lucy was hoping. She had spent too much time inside the jungle. It was humid. She was tired. And she looked down right exhausted. Overall, Lucy was irritable.

A loud roar came from inside the small wooden cabin in the center of the clearing. It wasn't big enough to be classed as a cabin really. It was more like a large shed. Nevertheless, the noise sprung the strongest team in Fairy Tail into action. Firstly, Natsu leapt forward with Happy on his tail. Shortly following after was Gray, then Erza, and finally, Wendy and Carla. Lucy waited a small while as she watched her team dart in front of her before slowly picking herself up, dusting off her damp camouflage pants, matching her brown tank, as a part of her army-style outfit. The camouflage jacket was also readjusted. One deep sigh later, she too joined in, following after the team. She decided to take her time as she took a gentle stroll. She really had no reason to jump into the fight; the team could handle something like such with ease. Her head felt heavy from the humid air and her body felt slackened.

From such a small hut, Lucy was outstanded to see how many men poured out of there; it was like a clown car. Dozens upon dozens came shooting out, charging at the invaders. Some were mages, others mere lackeys.

Lucy needed to get her gears together. After a sharp scolding to herself for being lazy, energy surged up inside her. Leaping forward, she ran to join the fight.

All her team mates had their hands full. Lucy knocked a couple out with her whip as she faced a few stray opponents. Fights were engaged all around her. Natsu, Gray and Erza faced at least two dozen men each and about another dozen surrounded Wendy and Carla. The celestial mage did her infamous _'Lucy kick'_ as her foot sprung forward, catching one man unexpectedly in the neck. He never even saw her coming.

A loud yelp echoed through the fighting grounds. For a brief moment everyone stopped. It was soon over, but everyone still felt distracted by its origins.

"What the hell was that?" Gray exclaimed, sending a right hook into a man who managed to get too close to the ice mage.

"It sounded like someone screaming!" Wendy exclaimed in dismay. Lucy glanced at her occupied friends. She too was worried by the horrendous screaming echoing from the wooden make-shift house. Lucy felt an indescribable urge pushing her towards the shed.

"I'll go check it out!" Lucy called, jogging towards the door.

"Wait, Lucy. It's dangerous; you don't know what's in there!" Gray called warning to the continuing celestial mage.

"Don't worry; I can handle it!" She waved, running out of sight.

"Natsu-" Erza called to the pink haired mage.

"I know; I'm on it." Natsu cut her off, sending a flaming fist and almost knocking out all his opponents, so only few remained. He would quickly deal with them and follow after her.

Lucy pressed her back to the front of the shed, peering her head around the corner of the door. Muffled sounds of fighting drew on in the background as Lucy pulled her attention towards the room in front of her. After making sure no one else was coming, she crawled carefully through the doorway. With a barren room of only about 50 square foot in size, it was impossible for all those men to fit in there. The only possibility was that there was something else here.

Lucy scanned the plain, grey-painted room. Luckily, she had an eye for detail. A faint crack of a 5 by 5 meter square ran along the floor boards. Lucy crouched down, running her fingers gently over the edges. Inch by inch, she applied a little pressure. If she felt resistance to her push, she moved on.

Finally, she felt lenience from her pressure. With a little more of a push, the square squashed down. A hissing sound was made as it popped back up, opening just enough for gas to spill from the hole. Lucy slipped her fingers between the opening, widening it for herself. A ladder dropped down into a white room with long metal catwalks.

Lucy's boots rang against the metal grating each time she put her foot down. It seemed her attempt of silent stalking had nullified. Following the oddly long hallway, she moved deeper into the underground crevice. Until, finally, she found a door. One single door sat at the end. As soon as another screech rang from the door, it confirmed it was the place she was looking for. Lucy grimaced at the screaming. She hoped whomever was in there was okay, yet she found herself hesitant to go in. Maybe she should wait for Natsu or Erza to come down... But no, they were preoccupied defeating the enemy and getting down to her would take a bit of time. Not to mention the trap door closed after she entered, it would take too much time. And it wasn't like she could go back for them either, since the trap door only opened on the outside. The guards in the shed must have let the soldiers out.

Lucy took a deep breath and closed her eyes. Courage began to swell inside of her. Opening her eyes once more, she glared at the door, pulling her whip into her hands. In a single flowing movement, she clasped the cold, metal handle swinging the door open so hard it bounced back off the wall as she slipped inside. A man with long silver hair held a wooden bat in his hand, turned towards a man tied to a metal chair. Bloody, bruised and barely conscious, hope fluttered in his eyes as he caught the stellar mage's face. "You." Lucy snapped. "Stop this." Slowly, the man turned around to see the celestial spirit wizard clasping her whip tightly in a threatening demeanor. A flash of fear flickered in his hard silver eyes.

Two men, who Lucy hadn't noticed, launched towards her. They were stood on either side of the doorway. If Lucy's grand entrance didn't make her noticed, nothing else would have done. Lucy's mind faltered, not knowing which one to turn to first. Struggling under her confusion, a harsh snap saved her dilemma. "Stop! Don't touch her!" It snapped.

Lucy was taken aback. When she looked at where she thought the voice came from, she only came to look at the old veteran man holding the bat. Wrinkles, blemishes and worn eyes watched her frightfully. "Don't lay a single finger on her." Even with his fearful gaze, a smile crooked on his lips. The two men backed away, closer to the old man.

"What is it, sir?" They asked, confusion trailing their tone. To be honest it was kind of ironic how Lucy's outfit suited them more than it suited her. The big burley men all dressed in black were probably ex-soldiers. Lucy watched them cautiously. But most of all, her curiosity shook as it was dragged towards the silver-haired fox glaring at her.

"It's little Lucy Heartfilia." He chuckled.

"What?" Lucy growled, unsure to why he knew who she was.

"Don't you remember me, Lucy?" The man smiled lifting his hand to his face. Lucy glared at him silently.

"Luce!" A voice yelled in the distance. It was close by, but faded as Lucy watched the man run a finger through his soft grey bangs. "Luce!" The voice drifted further out. As the bangs moved with the brush of his hand, a long thin scar ran down the side of his face, glistening under the harsh light. A loud pound crashed inside Lucy's chest and then it stopped. Her stomach turned to iron, weighing down inside her stomach. Her breaths felt short and shallow as her eyes widened, staring into the abyss. A darkness swirled around Lucy as her consciousness sunk. A lump formed in her throat, causing her breath to falter. The celestial wizard's legs trembled beneath her body. They gave way letting the stellar mage fall to her knees.

"So you _do_ remember." His voice proudly announced in an absent mutter.

"LUCY!" A voice yelled as the man picked up his bat and swung at the figure entering the doorway. The dragon slayer caught it in his fist with ease, burning it to ashes. A few moments later they were all knocked out. Natsu turned to look at Lucy with a calming smile. As he saw his best friend, the smile disappeared. "Luce?" he asked gently, dropping to his knees in front of her. "Luce." he called again, waving his hand in front of her face.

Suddenly, life appeared in her eyes again as she focused on the pink-haired dragon slayer. "Natsu?" she muttered hoarsely through her dry throat.

"You okay?" Natsu asked considerately. Gathering her wits, she recomposed herself. A small reassuring smile lit her lips as she stood up again to find her knees slightly weak.

"Yeah I'm fine." She reassured the dragon slayer. Natsu returned her smile, relieved at her recovery. That state of his friend was beginning to scare him. He'd never seen her look so... _lost_.

"Good!" Natsu laughed, also standing up.

The thundering thumping of footsteps crashing down the long hallway echoed into the chamber. Team Natsu finally caught up. Huffing and puffing, they leaned in a big clump against the doorway. "Good; you guys are okay." Erza gave a relieved sigh. Lucy turned and laughed at the exhausted mages behind her. Natsu stood closely next to her, acting as a buffer between her and the man on the floor. With a small nod towards the men, Gray moved past everyone towards them. Lucy smiled and talked to Erza about the trap door.

Gray heaved the grey-haired man to his knees, forming iced cuffs around his wrists. "Lucy..." he mumbled. A single eye open, looking up at the blonde lazily. Lucy shivered, slowly turning her head to face him. A horrible feeling churned in her stomach as she dreaded what would come when his lips moved. "He's coming for you." he chuckled before falling unconscious once again. Lucy felt the ice run through her veins as she glared in utter disbelief.

"Lucy?" Natsu caught her slow attention. "Who is _'he'_?" Lucy shook her head slowly, her eyes never leaving the unconscious man.

"I don't know." She mumbled, turning her frightened eyes back towards the dragon slayer. "I- I- don't-" Lucy's body quivered, knees trembling. Natsu felt a horrible ache in his chest. Why did she look so frightened? Instinctively, Natsu pulled Lucy to her chest, wrapping her in a protective hug as he held the absent minded girl. Her arms wrapped tightly around the pink-haired boy as Natsu exchanged worried glances with Erza over her shoulder.

What the hell was going on?

  


 


	2. The Past's Gift

Team Natsu managed to deliver the young aristocrat's son without any further damage and claim the reward. However, the journey home wasn't quite as cheerful.

Natsu laid across the red leather booths of the train, nestling his head on Lucy's lap. The travel sickness numbed as the soothing scent of vanilla and strawberry intoxicated the dragon slayer's sensitive nose. In its stead, a different weaker sickness replaced it. When his eyes were closed, and his ears listened to Lucy's soft breaths, her fingers running unconsciously through his pink, scruffy hair, he felt calm and peaceful.

However, when dark onyx eyes came to occasionally sneak a glance at his blonde friend, the sickness twisted inside of him, knotting his stomach so tight he thought he wouldn't be able to breathe. She wasn't chatting about nonsense with any other team member like she usually did. She could talk for ages of boring books, plays and clothes. Instead, she was quiet. And when Lucy, of all people, was quiet, it meant she was doing only one thing- Over thinking. When Lucy was troubled or feeling anxious about something, she tended to go quiet and think. Natsu didn't always like the outcome of Lucy's quiet moments. He had a feeling he wouldn't like the one coming either. If only her face would turn from the world outside the window, to him, then he would know what to do. But she didn't turn.

Lucy's eyes drifted passed the moving scenery outside of the little train they were on. Green grassy hills were a quick blur. Buildings were faintly noticeable in the distance. And the sky was a clear cloudless blue. Soft, bouncy strands of fluffy hair felt faintly ticklish between her fingers as they twiddled with his pink, scruffy mane. Warm breath prickled and teased the goosebumps on her arm, scaring away the chill of the carriage. Big brown eyes looked over the small clusters of passing towns through the frosted pre-winter chill creeping up the edge of the glass. In truth, she wasn't really looking at the villages at all; they just passed as indifferent flashes of brown, beige and red. _'Who was he?'_ The question wriggled its way into her mind, rattling her calm thoughts like the train on the tracks. She wasn't sure if she had flinched, but the warm bubble in her chest was letting her know of the dark eyes watching her. Natsu's gaze had that affect on her, alerting her when he was watching. Maybe it had been because of all the time they had spent together. Many of the guild's members had known him for years longer than herself and they probably didn't feel it. Nevertheless, raven eyes tracked her face with a cautious and uncharacteristic intensity.

A silent sigh escaped under her breath, as she tried to ignore their drawing beckoning. They had interrupted her train of thoughts, which had barely begun to move. Thought it didn't take long before they were rolling ahead again.

Once again, the questions began cropping up with an irritating but alluring chime. _'Who was the silver-haired man, really?'_ She thought helplessly _'How does he know who she is?'_ , _'What man was he talking about?'_ Lucy felt a headache coming on, maybe even a migraine, if she was lucky. Familiar scenery began to crop out of the dull background. More sandstone and welcoming golden buildings began to appear more frequent, as Lucy realized they were nearly home.

Involuntarily, brown orbs glanced down the dragon slayer cradled on her lap. Surprisingly, Natsu was awake. Normally, he'd be asleep and it would take forever for the stubborn, fire-head to wake up. Big, dark eyes watched her gently, a little smile curving on her lips. That small bubble in her chest radiated across her body, lifting her body temperature, and her mood as well. Somehow, Natsu's smile, full of innocence, naivety and hope, could change her whole mood around. Those big, dark eyes that felt like they saw everything, always felt like they were telling her _'Don't worry'_. Because of that, she never really did. Not with Natsu around anyway.

The train let out a harsh whistle as it came to a slowing shudder, and then a stop, at Magnolia train station.

Night swept in like a veil of darkness, coating the sky in a deep, navy blue. Only the glittering moon, which hung like a locket over Magnolia's burning city, could escape its grasp.

Lucy Heartfilia ravenously searched through her bag, trying to locate the key to her door, as her legs ached and whined for rest. They hid within a zipped-up compartment of her purse. She plucked them out swiftly, fitting them into the lock and swinging the door open. A warm burst of air welcomed her home to her snug apartment. Lucy escaped the foyer's chilling, winter daft and draped her wool coat and bag over the hanger beside the door.

As Lucy trotted past her bed, towards the bathroom, she noticed something familiar. More like someone familiar - _two_ someones, as a matter of fact. Curled up under her soft, pink sheets was Natsu, snoring away peacefully with his blue companion balled up at his toes, poking out the ends of the bed. "Jeez," Lucy groaned softly. "You guys always fall asleep here!" She scolded with a gentle whisper. She was thinking she was going to come back to some empty apartment where a big bed waited there for her; looks like she thought wrong. Instead of feeling irritated or annoyed, she felt strangely relieved to find them there, as cute as always when they were asleep- a masked innocence compared to when they're awake. Another sight later and she hurried into the bathroom.

A few minutes later, she returned. Little yellow chicks decorated the new pink pajamas she bought from the clothes retail store in the neighboring town. She had brushed her teeth, combed her hair, tied it back in a bun, and was finally ready for bed.

Unable to break up the cute sleeping faces of the duo, Lucy grabbed a blanket, spare duvet and pillow from the cupboard and settled for the couch. She made sure the door was locked, lights were off and everything was tidy before she rearranged her bed scraps into sleeping material.

Nighttime was suffocating silent as Lucy laid alone. Moonlight spilled in through the gap in the curtain, lining everything with an incandescent silver glow. Sleep was welcomed, but it never came. It wasn't the couch; it was comfy enough to sleep on. She wondered why Natsu always complained about it when she sent him to it on the days he insisted on sleeping over. Instead, it was lingering thoughts that made the celestial wizard wander back through the day's events. She went back to the cabin, to the room where she listened to that white fox's words and felt the world shake and crack underneath her feet, dropping her into a dark blurry haze. "I wonder what that was." Lucy whispered quietly. Slowly, she lifted her hand up in front of her face, watching the moon's rays run across her palms. The pink Fairy Tail insignia glimmered a pale pastel pink under the pure light, compared to its rather vibrant shade. As her hands flipped and turned, the light illuminated her skin an icy white. It ran down her fingers, over her palms and down across the iron black shackles that clung to her wrist.

Lucy shrieked, stumbling up to her feet. Pulling her hand back, her body jerked to stop, dragging her down to her knees. The chains began to pull, knocking Lucy onto her back. Quickly, Lucy retreated to sitting up just as her body slowly began to be hauled forwards, closer and closer to the dark shadows where the chains were swallowed in black. Lucy screamed, kicked and dug her nails into the floor. But it didn't stop.

A whip, long, thin and black, cracked out from her wrist like lightening. Just as quickly, she launched backwards. Black shadow claws gripped around her, engulfing her whole. "He's coming for you." A voice cackled in the air. The voice drowned out quickly against the thump of loud, heavy footsteps echoing in the dark.

"NO!" Lucy screeched.

Suddenly, Lucy's body flung up with a jolt. Her heart rattled inside her ribs, her lungs gasped for air in her chest, and cold skin, wet with sweat, shivered and shook. Fists clawed and twisted the fabric of the duvet in her palms. The cold darkness of her apartment surrounded her, empty and quiet. "What- What was that?" She exclaimed her voice croaking into a whisper. It was a nightmare. A really horrible, terrifying nightmare that felt too real for her own tastes.

Lucy managed to calm herself down with her head cradled between her knees on the couch. Lucy sighed and glanced up, spotting Natsu and Happy tranquil and asleep, just how she had left them. Big brown eyes watched the wriggling toes peeking out from the bottom of the duvet, and she giggled, seeing them waggling and digging for warmth. Hauling herself up quietly, she dragged the blanket off the couch, tip-toeing over to the bed with it.

The blanket draped softly over the dragon slayer's cold toes and tucked it over Happy's sprawled out star-fish. Gaze still wandering, she ended up at the other end, watching the pink-haired boy sleep peacefully. "Take that, ice princess!" She heard him mumble, slurring the letters as if he was drunk. It couldn't be helped, she giggled. "Lucy~" Natsu whined, catching the stellar mage off guard. _Was he awake?_ Lucy thought with startled surprise. Natsu buried his head closer into the pillow, breathing softly. Sound asleep. Lucy sighed and turned making her way back to the empty couch which was as alluring as it looked; which wasn't very much. She doubted she'd get much sleep on it anyway. She came to an abrupt stop.

A firm, warm grip tightened around her wrist, holding her in place. As she turned back, she realized it was Natsu's gentle hand, holding onto her in his sleep. Before Lucy could think about what to do in her predicament, she was hurdled backward. She lost her footing, stumbled and crashed into something hard and warm. Two arms wrapped tightly around her as Natsu buried his nose into the nape of his neck, making a low grumble that sounded like a purr. "I'll protect you." he whispered gently into her ear. Lucy's heart suddenly leapt, skipping at least ten beats. As she tried to calm her heart, she felt his relaxing breath tickling the hairs on the back of her neck. In and out, slow and steady. The rise of Natsu's chest grazed her back before it fell back down. Lucy closed her eyes, engulfed by the soothing, rhythmic pattern. Her breath fell in sync with his, concentrating carefully. Before she realized it, she fell asleep wrapped in Natsu's protective and comforting embrace.

Night trickled by and Lucy slept undisturbed till morning, entranced in Natsu's warm. Sunshine rose through her opaque curtains in the early dawn, giving a pale pink tint to her apartment. A rapping knock at the door startled the blonde wizard awake.

As she began to rise from her bed, she felt firm resistance around her waist. One big arm laid gently over her hip, hugging her stomach. Lucy felt her stomach flip and her cheeks flush with heat. Before she could even comprehend her position, the door wrapped again.

Urgently, Lucy flung herself out of bed, twisting out of Natsu's grip and stumbled forward to the door. She grabbed the brass handle, swinging the door open on the person who was in the middle of knocking for a third time. It was her land-lady. The dark-haired, middle aged woman just thrust a small package into her arms, muttered something and left. Lucy watched the woman stalk away from her doorway until the woman was shutting her door behind her, before she closed her own. Lucy shrugged her off and looked down at the package sat in her hands. Faint traces of the chilling draft traveled up the leg of her little chick pajamas and she shivered, feeling goosebumps prickle up her calve.

_'To Lucy Heartfilia,'_ it said in sharp, black curling letters that flicked at the end. Dusted string wrapped the box tightly together over the dark tan packaging paper. After spending five minutes looking for scissors, Lucy cut the box open. Paper slowly unraveled as the string slipped off. Ripping the box open, Lucy found a smaller box inside. Cautiously she plucked it out, examining it closely. Whispers of snoring could still be heard behind her as Natsu and Happy where still asleep.

Expensive white paper wrapped the forearm-length, rectangular box which was about five inches thick. Red, ribbon crossed the edges and tied into one bow, holding a small tag. On the tag was the same, jet-inked pointy handwriting as the address box. Lucy pulled off the tag, setting it face up on the table. Taking one end of the silk bow, she slowly pulled, watching the ribbon unravel and come undone. Ribbon slid away and floated to the floor as Lucy lifted the white, smooth lid, eager to see what was inside. Laid on a bed of red, paper confetti, was a single flower. A dead, red rose.

The world came crumbling down around her. Her heart rapidly thrashed in her heart, playing her ribs like a xylophone. Lungs cried and pleaded for air. High pitched sirens racked and scratched at her ear drums. Black hazy darkness swirled around her, wrapping its claws around her skin like a heavy, constricting slick of oil. Brown lost eyes trailed back to the little paper tag set on the table. The rest of the world fell out of focus as she read the big black letter, coiling like a snake on paper. _'I missed you, Lucy.'_

Child cries blasted through her ears. Glass smashed around her. Chains slithered across the floor. Shadows crept closer and closer, scratching her arms and leg. Lucy froze. Everything towered around her; the faces coated in the blackness of the shadows. She felt her body swing out at the shadow, digging into firm skin with her jagged nails and then recoiling as they lunged for her. A figure followed after her and she staggered, stumbled and fell back into a stone cold wall, dripping with ice and moss. Light loomed up over the figure. Short silver hair folded around his sharp, narrow face, baring the bloody claw marks down the right side of his forehead.

A flickering image darted over her mind. It was her, looking at the same man. He looked older, darker grey streaks cut through his hair, blemishes, and wrinkles covered his kin, but the same weary but sharp eyes were embedded deep in his face. His hand lifted up locks of his long, silver hair. Three shiny, silver scars ran across his forehead. It was him. It was the same man. Red, blood shot across her vision as the image distorted and snapped back into darkness.

Instantly, the man's face looked up in front of hers. She squealed and tried to push back but felt resistance from the wall. Instead, she lurched forward trying the push him aside. "He's coming for you!" His voice shrieked in a horrifying cry as the shadows hungered for her. Its dark cold mouth locked around her arms, rattling like chains.

"NO! LET GO!" she screamed, trying to pull free. The shadows melted away, dripping from the cuffs that locked around her wrists and ankles. "NO!" She howled as the shadows pulled and shook her.

"LUCY!" A voice faintly snapped in the darkness, drowned out by the hollowing cries.

"Natsu?" Lucy whispered.

"LUCY!" It bellowed again in a loud thundering roar. The shadows wailed and crumbled away, detaching themselves from the corners of her apartments. The world set back in a slow, hazy focus, lit by faint golden rays of winter sun.

Warm hands locked tightly around her wrists with a secure and gentle grip. "Natsu?" Lucy whispered, letting her gaze rise. A sigh of relief left the dragon slayer's lips as he dragged her into a quick, rough embrace, smothering his face into the nape of her neck. Natsu's skin was moist with sweat and she could feel his hands shaking as they held dearly onto her shoulders. "I'm sorry." she whispered into his vest, burying her head into his chest.

After Lucy calmed down, Natsu decided to go to the guild. They went, called the rest of the team, Master, and Mira and explained the situation. Levy intervened with Gajeel somewhere in the middle. Jet and Droy came after that. Then it was Lisanna and Cana. After it was Bickslow, Freed, Laxus and Evergreen, along with Elfman. It wasn't long before the whole guild was in on the discussion. The crowd surrounded the little table where team Natsu, Master, Levy and Mira sat.

Everyone was discussing and contemplating the story while Natsu and Lucy bickered in hushed tones next to each other.

"Natsu, are you sure it was a good idea to tell them?" Lucy whispered.

"Of course!" Natsu replied matter-of-factually, giving her a look that said he thought she was stupid.

"But- It wasn't real- I mean the man was real, but the dream, it was just a nightmare!" Lucy protested, leaning her face closer to his.

"Lucy, you completely freaked out over that creepy present!" Natsu argued, leaning his face even closer.

"But- come on, we don't even know who he is!" Lucy grumbled, turning her head down to her hands that sat in her lap, fiddling with the edges of her blue skirt.

"It's because we don't know who he is worries us even more. I want to protect you, Luce." Natsu smiled sweetly, banging his forehead gently against her when she turned. Lucy's mind jumped back to last night, remembering the same words repeated at the nape of her neck with his warm breath on her back. A hot blush began to creep up her cheeks. "You're my nakama, right?"

"Right." Lucy caved, smiling back to his signature, goofy smile that made her feel hopeful as always.

"Lucy." An old, strong voice called. Lucy span away from Natsu and turned towards Makarov standing on the top of the table, making him seem a little taller than he actually was. At his feet, was the package with the rose, the tag and the latest profile update on the silver-haired criminal. A small sense of unease still churned in her stomach as she looked at them. "Do you have any idea who he is?" Makarov asked, setting the tag carefully in front of her. As her brown eyes scanned over the black, jagged letters, she was only thinking of one word; Shadow. It made her feel uneasy and nauseated as she tried to think of anyone in her past that would send her a dead rose. Lucy shook her head, fearing that if she spoke, her voice would fail her and show everyone the feelings that suffocated her inside.

"Well, we could go talk to this guy." Gray suggested, picking up the criminal report to read the name and dropping it back on the table with purpose carelessness. "Issac Silver- a.k.a. The Silver Fox." Gray recited. Goosebumps prickled all down Lucy's soft skin, feeling a chilling draft despite the warmth of the insulated guild. She felt herself flinch at his name and she involuntarily found her body pushing backwards into the seat, trying to get back as much as she could. It couldn't be a coincidence could it? The fact that she had referred to him as a fox- a silver one- bothered her.

"Luce!" A voice whispered sharply into her ear. Lucy's head snapped up to catch Natsu staring at her, his face barely inches from hers. Lucy realized how hot she felt and unintentionally jumped at Natsu's surprise. A heavy weight pulled down her shoulders making her jump unnoticeable. Slung around her shoulders was Natsu's arm, radiating warmth through her body like a hot drink in winter. Natsu must have noticed her quietness and realized how she was worrying. But, he said nothing. Lips quirked in a curved line and he gave her a flash of her favorite, goofish grin that always felt reassuring. She sent one back with surprising ease, considering the situation.

"Erza, Gray and Gajeel, go and find out all you can about Issac Silver, I will ask the council to let you see him." Makarov instructed. Lucy realized that she had been over thinking long enough to miss the entire importance of the conversation.

"Natsu, Happy, you stay with Lucy." Makarov continued.

"What?" Lucy exclaimed.

"It's only temporary until we find out whom your mystery sender is and if he poses a threat. I would feel guilty, leaving you alone while he's still out there." Makarov moped with his devilish and cunning puppy dog eyes.

"Okay, I understand." Lucy whined, caving in to the old man's manipulation. Quickly, she turned to Natsu and Happy. Both wore childish grins, almost bouncing up and down in their seats. "You get to sleep on the couch." Lucy- rather bluntly- snapped, smiting the boys straight down into a sulk.

"Wouldn't it be better if a girl we-" A small voice quickly cut off, after speaking aloud from the crowd. As Lucy turned, she noticed Mira had disappeared. She was found right behind Natsu and Lucy, smothering her hands over the lips of her younger, struggling sister.

"It's okay, she didn't say anything. Have fun! We're counting on you Natsu!" Mira laughed nervously, dragging Lisanna by the head into the kitchen. Natsu gave Mira a thumb up as she disappeared behind the swinging door.

"I wonder what's up with her?" Lucy said, finishing with a yawn. Glancing out the window, she realized the day had already ended. Night had shrouded them in a blink of an eye, losing morning and midday. Having ate their fill at the guild throughout the day, Natsu, Happy and Lucy headed home.

  


 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I actually wrote this story a while ago, before I looked up the Fairy Tail story plot, and realized they made a character called Silver. The coincidences~ Anyway, I just thought I'd point out that the Silver in this story was what I made up myself.


	3. The Second Gift

Anime/Manga » Fairy Tail » **Shadows**  
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|  Author: A-ccentric |  1\. The Return of the Past 2\. The Past's Gift 3\. The Second Gift 4\. Old Truths 5\. Winter's bite 6\. Ours 7\. Strength 8\. Trap Door 9\. Jump 10\. Caged Part 1 11\. Caged Part 2 12\. Questions 13\. Doorway to Darkness 14\. Jaedou 15\. Stand Against the Enemy 16\. Possession of the Heart 17\. United Power 18\. Aftermath 19\. Epilogue The Complexity of Snowflakes   
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| Rated: K - English - Drama/Romance - Reviews: 81 - Published: 01-10-14 - Updated: 01-23-16 | id:10010833  
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Shadows  
Chapter 3: The Second Gift

Day one of Natsu and Happy's body guarding: Lucy fumbled her keys through the lock on the door and turned it with a flick of her wrists. The door swung open and Lucy found herself looking at the dragon slayer and feline lounged on her bed. "Yo!" Natsu absently waved staring at the ceiling.

Natsu couldn't help feeling a little excited. He got to stay with Lucy for a while. Mostly, it was the sense of relief that came with being Lucy's bodyguard, that made him feel happiest. Somewhere, out there, someone was coming after Lucy. Natsu didn't like that one bit. When Lucy was ever in danger, he would feel a tightening knot in his chest, and found difficulty in trying to draw breath.

Suddenly, a sharp tug at his leg sent him tumbling through the air. He landed hard with a _thump_ on the floor by the bed. A blue fur ball followed him down, landing heavily on his chest, making him gasp. Hands on hips, Lucy's frightening figure towered over them, burning with discipline. "Couch." she growled, dropping spare pillows and blankets on top of them.

"But-" Natsu whined with his best puppy-dog eyes. All he got was a hesitation before she repeated herself, even more harshly. Natsu sulked over to the couch looking extremely wounded like a beaten dog, pouting as he rolled onto the cushions.

Lucy had already changed for bed in her yellow pajamas decorated with little ginger lions this time. Lights off, the stellar mage crawled in to bed, wrapping the duvet tightly around her, fighting off the winter draft.

Darkness hounded the skies, fighting off the orb of light that bloomed peacefully in the night. Its gentle white rays slipped between the bars of the window, rolling onto the hard, cement floor. Iron cuffs rattled on the chains, scraping against the grit walls. "How're you today?" A silk voice called from beyond her cell's dark iron bars, where the world fell into a thick, chocking shadow, cowering from the light. Her heart raced wildly, pumping fear and adrenalin through her veins. "Shall we go use the weird machine again?" It whispered, cutting like a blade through the air. She shook her head.

"Why not?" It spoke again.

"It makes me tired." She whimpered, her voice sounding small and frail, like a small child's. "and it hurts."

"It's okay, you can take a nap if you feel tired afterwards." The voice compromised, sympathetically. Though, she didn't feel any kindness in its words. Lucy shook her head again. Keys jingled in the darkness, but couldn't be seen. The faint click of the lock opening echoed through the dense space of her cell. Lucy fiercely shook her head again, he short, dirty blonde hair whipping around the sides of her face. Her body scrambled back against the cold wall, trying to get as far back as possible. An itching burn radiated in the center of her chest. With a loud, spine-crawling creak, the brass bars swung open, letting the darkness sweep in.

Lucy jolted upwards with a start. Brown eyes darted around, washing over everything. In the dim-lighting and washed over moonlight, she could faintly make out the familiar shapes of her apartment. She sighed, relaxing her body back down, under the sheets. Her skin felt damp and sticky with sweat.

A chilling breeze escaped through a crack in the window and traveled under a bump in the covers. She shivered, goosebumps prickling up her legs.

Warmth settled them back down as it radiated from behind her. A hot spot in the bed called to her like a siren, pulling her back. A firm build stopped her scooting any further back as it pulsated heat across her body. She felt herself relax into the warmth behind her. She closed her eyes and felt the heated weight relax around her stomach, pulling her even closer together. Lucy let out a gentle breath. Soft blonde hair nestled back into the nape of the neck behind her, letting a chin rest on her head. Lucy laid like that for a long while, before she was, slowly, and peacefully pulled back into the world of slumber.

Night passed by peacefully and Lucy woke to the peaceful twittering of birds. She stretched, reaching her arms back above her head and pointing her toes until they touched the end of the bed. Warmth fizzled over her foot as it touched something soft but solid. Lucy gasped, tumbling out of the bed and face planting the floor.

Slowly, she clambered up, rubbing her nose sorely. Instantly, she spotted the pink tuffs of hair perking up from under the covers and the blue fur coiled into a ball at the end of the bed.

"Natsu! Happy!" Lucy yelled. Both Natsu and Happy woke with a start, falling into a heap on the floor, just like Lucy had done.

"Mornin' Luce!" Natsu grumbled, still half-asleep and staggering to his feet.

"What were you doing in my- NATSU!" Lucy snapped again as Natsu dropped his head onto her shoulder. Even being stood up didn't stop him from falling asleep. Lucy clasped his face between her palms, bringing it to look at her. A hand cut across his cheek with brute, merciless strength, echoing the sound through the entire city. That worked.

"OUCH, Luce! What was that for?" Natsu whined, rubbing his cheek with abused dark eyes.

"Oh good, you're awake!" Lucy chimed with obviously fake and excessive delight. "Now you can tell me why you was in my bed." Lucy set her hands on her hips, watching Natsu with her brown, serious eyes ablaze with irritation.

"Erm...well, it was cold and..." he trailed off, scratching his neck, letting his gaze wander.

"And..." Lucy went to push it, but heard her own voice trail off.

"Lu-" Natsu got shoved aside as Lucy barged past, snatching the clock up from her bedside table.

"It's this late already!" Lucy exclaimed, slamming the clock back down. Busily, she collected her clothes and ran for the bathroom.

"What's up, Lucy?" Happy asked, him and Natsu watching her with confusement, still sat on the floor where they fell back down.

"I'm late." She snapped impatiently.

"For what?" They both chimed this time.

"Me and Levy are going shopping!" She growled furiously, slamming the bathroom door shut behind her.

Lucy closed her apartment door behind her as she left. After all the trouble it took for her to kick Happy and Natsu out, she felt tired and it was only morning. Carelessly, she missed the lock a good few times before she finally managed to fit it in. It turned with a click that echoed in her thoughts. Escaped winter winds scooted up the stairs, brushing past her ankles. It sent vibrating icy chills up her spine and pulsated through her veins. Even though Lucy wore heavy clothing, which consisted of thermal underwear, two t-shirts, a jumper and a thick pair of trousers, no forgetting the woolly socks. She winced and shivered, bracing the winter's frost embrace.

As Lucy opened her eyes, an image flickered across her sight. Darkness swallowed everything, only the moon's rays illuminated the small patch of ragged cotton she slept upon. Someone stood over her, stroking away a rogue strand of blond hair from her face with a stone gentleness. Skin touched and it felt cold. The gentle hand, was very, very cold.

Jolting back, Lucy gasped feeling something touch her shoulder. She whipped around and turned on the person behind her. It was only Natsu. Only? Who else was she expecting? Natsu cocked his head to the side, his eyes washing over every inch of her. "Luce?" he asked. For some odd reason, that bubbled something warm inside of her, sending a pink blush creeping up her cheeks. Lucy didn't realize how long they had been looking at each other for. When she did, she quickly turned back on the door and fumbled her keys out the lock, throwing them back in her bag. "Sorry to keep you waiting, let's go!" She chirped, pounding down the stairs ahead of him. Pink hair bounced as Natsu shook his head softly and sighed. After a moment, he lept down the stairs after her.

"Hey Levy, what coffee do you want?" Lucy called, handing jewels over the counter at _MageBuck's_ coffee shop.

"Mocha, please." Levy replied, watching her breath turn into a hazy cloud. Lucy collected the cups, saying thanks to the staff and came over to the blue-haired girl. Levy stopped rubbing her gloved palms together and took the cup off Lucy, pulling it close to her face. Moist clouds of steam washed over her red nose and she sighed in relief of its damp warmth. "Winter sure came fast, huh?" Levy said, walking through the busy streets of Magnolia, fighting the air's bitter chill.

"Yeah, I hope it doesn't get too much colder or else I'll turn into Plue." Lucy joked, taking a sip of her milky coffee, welcoming it's burning flash of heat down her throat. Levy giggled as she tugged her grey scarf up close to her chin.

"Do you think Natsu's okay?" Levy pondered, taking a big mouthful of her drink.

"Sure. Why?" Lucy asked, twisting out the way of someone barging through the crowd.

"Well, he just seemed very upset that he couldn't come." Levy explained. A long sigh escaped Lucy's lips.

"I know," she whined. "I understand he just wants to protect me but I'm really capable of looking after myself when I go shopping." Lucy sighed again.

"Yeah, I suppose." Levy unenthusiastically muttered.

"Besides, if we brought him, all he would have done is complain and want to go home. Sulking at the guild for a little while would be better than that." Lucy pepped. Levy smiled and nodded, finding small skip in her step again"Well, until Gray and Gajeel come back, there's not much that can be done about Natsu. Or you and your constant sulking, so let's go shopping!" Lucy cheered, pushing Levy towards the retail stores at the bottom of the long and busy street.

"Yeah- Wait! I'm not sulking!" Levy protested.

"Gajeel's probably missing you too!" Lucy retorted, waving and skipping off ahead.

Wheels clattered against the cobble stone roads of the outskirts of Crocus. The National Council Fiore branch sat on the far outskirts of the big city. Still the building was surrounded by a large mass of other buildings, painted in similar shades of dull grey. Three Fairy Tail wizards bounced along inside the bumbling carriage. Green and weak, Gajeel laid across one bench, fending off the urge to throw up. Erza and Gray sat on the opposite bench. "I really thought the journey without Natsu would be peaceful for once. Apparently, I was wrong." Gray muttered, glaring at the iron dragon slayer with distaste.

"Shuddap." Gajeel snapped, not bothering to move an inch.

"We're here." Erza coldly stated, jumping up from her seat, a second before the carriage stopped. First off was Gajeel, followed by Erza and then Gray.

Knee high snow filled the wide streets of Crocus. The unusual team of three looked up at the grand, church-like prison in front of the them. A spire towered high up over the big city in an intimidating and beautiful kind of way. Stained glass windows decorated the front and sides as the building stretched back and to the left. Erza gave it one quick glance and marched forward down the long, snow-covered path down to the plain wooden doors.

Although they were at least five stories high, the big doors moved open surprisingly easy.

"We've been expecting you, Miss Scarlet." A very average, middle-aged man spoke, dressed in the clique council military wear. Each in turn, the soldier inclined his head to the other two wizards. "Mr Fullbuster, Redfox."

The door creaked open about five centimeters more, and the group was gestured in. It was a tight squeeze for Gajeel, but Erza and Gray managed to slip through easily.

The ceiling soared many, many feet above them, decorated with winged children and chariots. Rather than seem beautiful, the paintings felt rather intimidating, as if eyes were on you every second. It couldn't be helped. Glass lacyrima balls hid in the nooks and cranny's of the plain stone walls, bearing only crucifixes and candles.

The knight lead them to a narrow hallway that seemed to go on forever. Light got dimmer the further they ventured. That wasn't he weirdest part. Other than the knight, they had seen no other council employees stationed anywhere. Erza had noticed it first, and as she turned, she saw Gray and Gajeel looking around suspiciously at the empty hallways. They had noticed it too.

They came to an abrupt stop outside a small wooden door. There was nothing else to say about it other than the brass handle and the magic keyboard. Swiping a hand across the light, the door opened with a soft hiss. Dry ice spilled out on the cracks like a growing cloud. The guard made no attempt to go through the door. He just stepped aside, clasping his hands behind his back. His reaction didn't shift and he didn't stop Erza as she reached for the handle. Opening smoothly, the reequip mage swung the door backwards. Cold, metal-grated steps descended into a dim darkness with a cold fog creeping up each step.

Erza moved over the threshold smoothly, and stopped. With hesitation, she turned to look over her shoulder at the knight.

"You have one hour." Was all he said, without turning his solid figure to face her. Gray and Gajeel felt unease as Erza stared long and hard at the unblinking knight. Finally, she turned and swiftly headed down, snatching something from a small shelf carved into the wall. The other two boys pounded through the door and down the steps. Gray and Gajeel stopped a few steps down. The knees buckled beneath them and the air was snatched out of their lungs. They dropped onto the stairs trying to find their strength and catch their breath. With a quiet hiss and a clink, the door shut behind them. Darkness lurched up and swallowed them whole, cold skating across their skin.

"What the hell?" Gray gasped, his breath forming into a misty cloud, snatched by the dark. There was a faint clink and the narrow walls and stairs were dimly hit with a pale light.

"It's a magic paralysis room. It drains your magic power until there's only enough to live." Erza explained, continuing down the stairs. Gray and Gajeel struggled back to their feet and staggered after her.

"Why'd they lock us in?" Gajeel snapped irritably, feeling frustrated and tired.

"Because, we're about to talk to a black-marked criminal." Erza added, her tone feeling even colder than the room's freezing temperatures.

"What's a black-marked criminal?" Gray asked.

"Someone even the government is scared of." A voice croaked out the endless shadow ahead. Erza snapped the beaming torch light forward, illuminating the aged, creased face and dark silver hair. The Silver Fox.

"It's you!" Gray growled. "The child snatcher."

"Hey boy, you know my name don't ya? Use it." The man coughed.

"I don't feel the need to." Gray hissed back. Dark platinum shackles clung to his neck, arms and ankles, bolted into the steel walls. A heavy steel plack of metal weighed his body forwards, strapped around his shoulders, ribs and thighs, connecting to another weight at his back, like a overgrown, steel dungarees. He looked older than before, his wrinkles more vivid, bones more prominent, and his hair was more like a scraggly grey than silver. It was his eyes that gave him away. Instead of looking tortured to the brink of death in a dark, empty, freezing cellar underneath a large church, he seemed, content and patient.

"What is a simple kidnapper doing in a black-marked criminal prison?" Erza questioned, setting the light a little lower than his chin.

"Wouldn't you like to know." Issac Silver teased, giving a half twisted smile to the red-head.

"I would as a matter of fact." Erza bluntly replied, keeping her stare hard and cold, locked with his.

"You're no fun." he pouted, returning the reequip mage's glare.

"Shut up and give us answers, Lucy is-" Gray cut himself off, realizing he had said one name too many. Silver's head broke Erza's gaze, whirling onto Gray.

"Lucy?" The man's lips slithered into a smile, showing his pearly white teeth. "How is she by the way?" Deep creases set under his eyes as his glare pounded into Gray, making his head ache. Involuntarily, Gray turned first, dropping his eyes to his feet.

"None of your god damn business, now hurry up and spit out an answer." Gajeel impatiently snapped, stepping into the light, looking as intimidating as ever.

"Oh, You're a new one!" Issac cooed, excitement glittering in his dark weary eyes. "Who are you?"

"None of your business." Gajeel snapped again, feeling uncomfortable under his heavy gaze.

"Gajeel. Redfox." Issac's voice blunted, causing Gajeel to flinch. "Iron dragon slayer, a.k.a Iron Gajeel, former Phantom Lord Guild member. Joined Fairy Tail after its defeated." Silver spilled out, watching Gajeel and Gray look taken back. "'Suppose I was right." he muttered.

"You're a hacker wizard." Erza deduced flatly.

"You're quite a sharp one, Titania." Issac's smile turned sour, his eyes setting back on her, hard. Even Gray could see Erza's eyes struggling not to turn away. After a long few moments, he sighed and turned back to face them all. Sweat trickled down Erza's cheek as a sigh of relief turned into a small, foggy cloud. "Yes, I am a hacker mage, one of the best actually."

"If you were so good, how come it was so easy to capture you?" Gray retorted.

"Because I made it that way." Silver replied with a little chirp of amusement.

"Made it that way?" Gajeel questioned with low suspicion.

"Yes, boy. A plan. I planned it. Do you know what plan is?" Issac spitefully and sarcastically snapped.

"Shut up." Gray growled before Gajeel could react. "Why did you plan to get caught?"

"I was wondering what it was like; never been caught before, y'know." Issac's voice softened. "So I took an aristocrat's cry baby son to cause a big commotion and get caught."

"But-" Gray began, before Erza, who remained quiet until that moment, interjected sharply.

"Who are you hiding from?" She spoke in a level voice. It was obvious; he flinched. His icy, pale complexion turned whiter than what seemed possible as the blood drained from his face. Slowly, his head turned to Erza, eyes narrowing, jaw clenched.

"You're a little _too_ sharp." he spat through his teeth.

"Hiding? Hiding from who?" Gray questioned, his face covered in puzzlement. Gray looked over his shoulder at Gajeel who shrugged.

"It's whom, kid." Issac bitterly snapped. "How far as the standard of language decreased since I was a child?" he muttered irritably.

"That doesn't answer the question." Erza inputted.

Silver dropped his gaze, his body shivering. It wasn't because of the cold. His voice was barely a whisper. "A shadow."

"Lucy!" Levy called, joining her as they stepped out of Blue Lagoon- a popular dress shop specializing in aqua colored dresses. They spilled back out into the flow of people moving through the frosty winter streets. Most were wrapped head to toe in coats with hats, scarfs, gloves and big shoes, some were daring and only wore fashionably thin jackets.

"Did you get it?" Lucy asked, burying her hands in the deep pockets of her red winter coat. Bags on her arms down slid down and cluttered at her wrists.

"Yeah," Levy smiled, lifting up the bag and giving it a gentle shake.

"Good; It looks cute on you!" Lucy complimented.

"Thanks!" Levy glowed, looking past the people surfing down the streets. "Hey why don't we try _Bella's_ for a dress for you?" Levy suggested, pointing to the beige, Italian dress shop just of the corner of the main street.

"Okay!" Lucy agreed and they veered their ways towards it.

A bell rang as the two girls stumbled through. Warm air filled the shop, smelling of fresh clothes and hot coffee. Quickly, a woman appeared from behind a manikin. Brown hair twirled up into a bun on top of her head. Dark make-up looked perfect with her red full lips and blush. Plain black t-shirt with _Bella's_ written in white matched the black trousers and simple shoes.

"I'm Marié, how can I help you?" She smiled, her honey brown eyes gleaming.

"We're looking for a formal dress?" Levy chirped, eyeing the beautiful white dress the woman had been tampering with.

"Oh, well, there are some dresses in the back if you want to look. Over there." Marié directed them to the right-back on the shop with racks and racks of dresses. Levy and Lucy went over to browse as the little bell rang again, notifying the staff that another customer had entered.

"Juvia needs a dress for her Gray!" A very familiar voice demanded.

"Juvia?" Lucy called peaking around the corner. Dressed in a long blue coat with a fur hat, scarf and leather gloves, was the water woman.

"Lucy? Levy?" Juvia replied in surprise as the girls moved over to see her.

"Could it be that you're both off to the winter ball?" Juvia exclaimed. Both girls nodded with smiles.

"Hey Juvia, we were about to try on some dresses, want to join us?" Lucy asked, going back to the rack to pluck off dresses in her size.

"Sure!" Juvia agreed, picking some of her own.

Levy sat outside the changing booths on a plush white couch, sipping hot coffee with cream. The other girl's were slipping into dresses on the other side of the curtains. Occasionally, they would show case them for each other's opinions. All three of them chatted, ignoring the thin barriers of cotton curtains as they switched dresses.

"Levy, who did you ask to the dance?" Juvia asked over the rattling sound of her trying on a dress.

"Gajeel, of course." Lucy interjected before Levy could.

"Really?" Juvia replied. "Well, Juvia supposed you would."

"What does that mean?" Levy flushed and both of the changing girls knew without having to look.

"Come on, Levy. Everyone knows about you and Gajeel." Lucy sighed, swinging back the curtain and stepping out. Dressed in floral purple, the dress was low cut and lengthened as it got to the back. Levy shook her head and Lucy stalked back into the changing room.

"They do not!" Levy protested.

"They do!" Juvia and Lucy called in unison.

"Who are you inviting Juvia?" Levy quickly turned the conversation, taking a long sip from coffee.

"Juvia is inviting Gray!" Juvia coo'ed before stepping out. A long, satin blue dress ran down to her ankles. Sequins shimmered at the torso end. A slit ran down the side, showing off her long, flawless thighs. Levy violently nodded her head. "Yes, definitely yes." Levy agreed adamantly. "Lu!"

Lucy's head popped out from the curtains, her jaw dropping at the sight of Juvia. "Yes. Yes. Yes." Lucy agreed, disappearing behind the curtain.

About two hours later, Lucy still hadn't picked a dress. None of them looked right. Levy was on her eight coffee, Juvia on her third champagne, and Lucy was on her twelfth barrel of depression. "I can't find one at all!" Lucy growled in frustration, dropping onto the couch in a slim fit gold dress. "What do I do?" she whined.

"We can always try another shop?" Levy suggested sympathetically.

"Yeah, Juvia's sure you'll find one." Juvia encouraged.

"No. No more dresses for today. I'm tired and fed up." Lucy growled, crossing her arms over her chest.

"I wouldn't give up so soon." Levy mumbled, rising from her seat. She set down her coffee and drifted directly for one dress. Lucy and Juvia followed, watching her curiously. Lucy caught sight of the dress she was looking at.

"Oh, I don't know Levy." Lucy retreated, unsurely. Juvia and Levy both got the same glint in their eyes as they shoved her back in the changing room along with the dress.

Lucy handed over the jewels for the dress and watched as Marié carefully packet it and bagged it. Juvia and Lucy both had to sign insurance for the dresses, in case something happened to them. Lucy filled in her signature on the dotted line and handed clip board and pen back to the dress shop attendant. She took it and disappeared behind a door.

Lucy sighed with relief as she looked down at her dress, packed neatly away in a box, in the bag, in her hand. She was buzzing. She didn't trust Levy at first, but she was right. This was the dress. She couldn't wait to wear it at the winter ball.

"So Lucy," Levy perked as they waited for Marié to return with their receipts. "Are you inviting Natsu?"

"Natsu?" Lucy questioned with pure surprise.

"Yeah Natsu; pink hair, pointy teeth, simple minded..." Levy rambled on.

"Why would I invite Natsu?" Lucy asked, knitting her eye brows together.

"What? Haven't you noticed?" Juvia exclaimed in disbelief.

"Noticed what?" Lucy quizzically and eagerly pushed.

"Natsu, he's in lo-" Levy began but got cut off by Marié's reappearance.

"Lucy Heartfilia?" She called out.

"That's me." Lucy walked back over to the counter.

"Here's your receipt, and here's the dress you ordered the other day." Marié -all business- smiled, handing a box into a clueless Lucy's hands and sticking the receipts on top of it.

"But, I didn't order anything!" Lucy exclaimed, setting the box on the counter.

"You didn't?" Marié looked just as confused, checking the paper work. "Well, this has been ordered for you, paid in full and insured."

"What is it?" Lucy mumbled, lifting the lid of the white box.

Lucy peaked through the gap, and lifted the lid. She unfolded the rice paper over the top.

In the box was a white, cotton dress with black iron chains hanging from it. Something red soaked and stained the white, a bloody red.

Lucy felt her legs collapse underneath her as she dropped to the floor, her body slumping against the desk. Sounds and voices merged into an incoherent murmur, fading by the second. Light, objects and faces drifted into a blur, getting swallowed up by darkness.

"It hurts. I don't want to go again!" Lucy cried out into the dark. She was dragged forwards by the cold, metal that clung to her wrists. Resisting was futile and her small child's legs were getting dragged across the concrete.

"It's okay, Lucy. Just one more time, flower." A soft, silky voice reassured her.

"You said that last time!" She whimpered out into the pitch blackness.

"I was wrong last time, forgive me?" The voice apologized. A red, vibrant rose popped up out of the dark, beautiful and big. Lucy slowly clasped her hand around it, holding it delicately. "One more time, for me, please?" The voice pleaded softly.

"Okay." Lucy agreed, defeated. Clinking of metal rang through the dark. Her hands and legs were snapped apart, pulled in every direction. It felt like a sharp needle pierced her back, digging through her chest and out the other side. Lucy screamed feeling torturous pain sucking the life out of her. Red blood trickled from her chest, staining her short white dress, red. The flower snapped in her fingers and fell into the despairing dark world.

Lucy's eyes snapped open and she tried to sit. Hands on her shoulders pushed her back down. Blurred faces hovered above her and fuzzy voice called out.

Eventually, faces cleared and voices separated. Two blue haired girls and one brown haired woman hovered over her, repeatedly shouting her name.

"Levy? Juvia?" Lucy whimpered softly. Sighs escaped all around her, and Lucy saw the brunette, Marié, hanging closely, looking shocked and worried.

"Lucy, we're going to all go back to the guild okay?" Levy spoke slowly as Lucy tried to comprehend her words at half that speed. She nodded. Levy and Juvia slung each one of Lucy's arms around their shoulders, carrying both the bags equally.

Lucy's mind slowed and turned back to the counter. the box sat open and Lucy could just see the note inside with big, swirly letters. _'I'll be seeing you soon, Lucy'_ And then, she blacked out again.


	4. Old Truths

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lucy's received another gift from the mysterious stranger. What do these gifts mean? And whose the sender? What will Erza, Gajeel and Gray learn from Issac Silver?

Natsu paced impatiently up and down the guild, wearing a groove into the floor.

"Natsu~" Happy whined. "Lucy will be fine." Natsu hesitated for a second, gave the cat a good long look, sighed and began pacing again. Happy gave up, sinking onto the table crowded by observant bystanders.

"Whose turn is it?" Elfman asked, sitting back into the chair, exhausted.

"I think it's yours Evergreen." Happy muttered, giving a big yawn.

"Nope. Unless you want him turned to stone, it's Wendy's." Evergreen grumbled.

"Wendy's asleep." Carla moaned, sneaking a look at Wendy asleep next to Romeo, her head on his shoulder and his head on her soft blue hair.

"What's wrong?" Lisanna popped up at the table full of drained and exhausted guild members. Happy raised a paw, directing it at Natsu then let it flop back onto the table.

"Why is Natsu so anxious?" Lisanna asked.

"Natsu's just worried because Lucy went out with Levy and refused to let him go too." Mira replied, setting a tray of several hot, creamy coffees on the table. Everyone awake grabbed one, took a big mouthful and sighed simultaneously, feeling a little refreshed.

"Well, I can see why she didn't let him; Natsu would just complain all day." Lisanna sympathized. "Someone should go talk to him." Almost all of the table began to cough and choke on their drink after taking a gasp full of hot coffee as the short-haired mage marched away from the table.

"I bet she fails!" Cana whispered across the table, nursing her fifteenth barrel of wine.

"I bet she does it." Elfman countered, slamming jewels on the table. "Lisanna's a real man."

"Natsu," Lisanna called, sitting on the sideline of his walking margin. "Natsu." she called again and he ignored her twice. She growled a small huff and stood herself in his way. Natsu came to a surprised stop, looking up and seeing her for the first time. "Natsu." she snapped with authority. The dragon slayer took a quick step back and looked at her with confusion.

"When did you get here?" Natsu asked, his head tilting to one side and his pink hair following it over.

"I got here over ten minutes ago, and that's not the issue. You're going to wear a hole in the floor if you keep doing that." Lisanna warned, setting her hands on her hips. Lucy did that too when she wanted to be stern with him; it must be a woman thing. Dark onyx eyes washed over his feet and the floor with a saddened gentle gaze. Weakly, Lisanna sighed. She herded him off to the nearest booth, sat him down in it, and then took a seat opposite. "Look Natsu, I know you want to protect Lucy, and that's a good thing. It's just, you can't follow her everywhere." Lisanna tried to reason with him. Natsu's face set in an adorable pout like a child who just got told he couldn't have ice cream until he ate his vegetables.

"But there's that guy out there! He's looking for her, he could get her any second. If I'm there I can just beat him to a pulp!" Natsu countered. Once again, his gaze fell down on his hands fiddling with the edges of his muffler.

"And you will once he's shown himself, but until then, just let Lucy have this one day of peace. Levy's with her, and I heard Juvia's shopping near there; she'll be fine; stop worrying." Lisanna tried to cheer him up, giving him a warm smile. Natsu looked up and gave her his old goofish grin. "Lucy's strong. 'Kay Natsu?"

"Lucy's stronger than we all think." Natsu replied unexpectedly, dropping his scarf and perking up.

"I see," Lisanna muttered softly, looking up at the dragon slayer. "You've grown up, hmm, Natsu."

"Hey Happy, want to go fishing?" Natsu called, bounding across the room.

"Aye sir!" Happy sprung wings enthusiastically and left the table where Cana was handing over her lost bet to Elfman.

"Natsu, Happy, you can't go fishing in the middle of winter!" Mira called as they headed to the door. Natsu took the iron handles into his big palms and swung the doors open. Gusts of whistling winter winds exploded into the guild.

"Natsu! Shut the do-" Cana went to shout but was cut off by Natsu's cry.

"Lucy!" Natsu wailed, darting out the door. Levy and Juvia carried the limp Lucy over their shoulders, struggling to the door. Quickly, Natsu helped them out, scooping Lucy into his arms. "Lucy, wake up! You're a member of Fairy Tail don't di-" Natsu wailed.

"She's not dead." Levy flatly interrupted, huffing out harsh breaths, bent over with her hands on her knees. "She's just unconscious."

"Oh." Natsu said, turning hurriedly to carry Lucy inside. Gasps escaped the guild as they saw Lucy limp in Natsu's arms. A few cried her name in shock and most rushed over, launching out of their seats. "She's just unconscious." Natsu said softly, but the relief in his voice was obvious. Mages shuffled out the way as he made his way to the infirmary.

"What happened?" The guild questioned the exhausted girls. Another brunette was with them but she just put bags and dress boxes on the table and left. She did ask for them to let her know if Lucy was okay when she woke up.

Mira-Jane pushed through the crowd and gave the girls some hot, mint tea. "It was fine until Lucy got that delivery." Levy started.

"Juvia and Levy were buying dresses and the woman said there was order that arrived for Lucy. Lucy said she didn't order anything." Juvia inputted. "She opened the box and then..." she trailed off.

"She just dropped to her knees." Levy continued. "She wouldn't respond to us at all, and then she fainted."

"Juvia and Levy waited for her to wake up in the shop. When she did, she looked so...scared." Juvia added.

"After that we carried her here. She must have passed out again along the way." Levy finished.

"What was in the box?" Wendy asked, woken up at the start of the commotion.

Natsu gently laid the blonde onto the soft bed, pulling the blanket under her chin. For a moment, his hand grazed her chin. Ice jittered up his arm as he felt her cold skin. "Jeez Luce, you're so cold." Natsu whispered, taking off and wrapping his warm, scaled scarf around her narrow neck. He sighed and crawled under the sheets next to her. "Ugh! I'm so tired." Natsu grumbled, burying his head into Lucy's chilled neck.

"I think I'll check on Lucy," Mira said as she made her way up the guild steps. She slid open the door and gasped, spinning away.

"What is it, Mira?" Lisanna called from the foot of the stairs. Everyone whizzed around watching the girl's cheeks light up with a big, devilish grin. She waved a hand at Lisanna who hurried up the stairs. Lisanna pushed open the door and smiled softly. "I think we should leave them be." Lisanna suggested with her elder sister agreeing. "Don't worry everyone; it's nothing." Lisanna called as she floated down the stairs. Mira lingered and watched for a moment before she finally hurried and followed her little sister down the stairs.

Set out on the table was the white, blood-stained dress covered in shackles. Laid on a bed of red rose petals, the white layers of cotton frayed at the edges, looking rough and tough on the skin. The black iron-cast handles were rusted, with chipped paint and dried blotches of blood on the inside and out. The deep crimson color of the blood surrounded a small tear in the fabric, the size of a thick needle. Makarov sat next to it on the tabletop, thinking to himself intensely.

"What do we do, Master?" Levy whimpered, curled up in a small chair nearby. Blue eyes kept down to the floor with her knees tucked under her chin, her arms wrapped around them tightly.

"What kind of sick person would send this as a joke?" Cana snapped, glaring at it in disgust. "We should burn it."

"No. It could give us a clue on who this person sending these gifts is." Makarov sighed with the same disgust on his face.

"Lucy, she looked so scared." Juvia repeated again, looking shaken. Mira and Lisanna draped a blanket over Juvia and Levy's shoulders as an act of reassurance. Juvia and Levy nodded their thanks, tightening the blankets up to their chins.

"I don't like this." Evergreen sighed, dropping the note carelessly on the table. Wendy slowly picked it up, hesitatingly opening her mouth to read aloud.

"I'll be seeing you soon...Lucy." Wendy read, gulping back her emotion at every word.

"Why won't this creep show himself?" Cana ranted again, refusing to touch her drink. "Sending presents like this, the freak!" Freed moved around and gently plucked the note from Wendy's small hands. Its paper mass felt like it weighed like a ton in her hands, and she struggled to keep hold of it. She felt relief in her arms when she finally let go. Freed looked and examined it closely before handing it to Bickslow, who passed it to Laxus.

"It's not encrypted." Freed stated. Laxus read the note slowly, flipping it over in his palm and then passing it to his grandfather beside the column he leaned against.

"He's one hell of a stalker." Macao growled, glancing at the small dress and turning away.

"I don't think he's your ordinary stalker, Macao," Wakaba said, fiddling with his dry pipe.

"No." Bickslow agreed.

"This guy must be from Lucy's past." Laxus called.

"Lucy actually knew a guy like this? Poor girl." Cana sympathized.

"I think the problem we have is in the present." Romeo inputted.

"The past can still affect the future, Romeo." Makarov wisely told the young mage.

"He's right; Lucy's past might help to find out whom this man is and why he's after her." Mira added, sitting in a booth with Lisanna, Elfman, Wendy, Romeo and Juvia.

"There's also her reactions to those boxes." Carla included, sat with Happy and Lily on the table top. "That's not just being scared, that's blind, terrifying fear by the sounds of it."

"She could have rejected the memory of him because of some related trauma." Laxus implied.

"Trauma?" Levy exclaimed. "You mean that Lucy suffered something so bad that she refused to remember it and pretend like it never happened?" Levy stammered, feeling upset and pained as she thought of what her bright and enthusiastic best friend had suffered.

"Either that or they were forcibly forgotten." Laxus added, shifting from his slouched standing position to a pulled-up chair.

"Juvia doesn't understand?" Juvia looked at them with confusion.

"Lucy knows that priest of knowledge or whatever." Laxus replied.

"Hiro Nisaki!" Happy filled in for him. "He was a close friend of Lucy's mother and she grew up with him around a lot."

"He has mind magic and can manipulate memories or, coincidentally, block them." Carla continued.

"He could have done it!" Happy exclaimed.

"I think we should have someone go talk to him." Freed suggested.

"I wish we could, but Lucy told me that-" Wendy sighed.

"Hiro's gone away on a trip and god knows where that sly, old man could have gone." A voice interrupted from the other end of the room. Everyone whirled around, finding Lucy standing at the bottom of the stairs.

"Are you okay Lucy?" Levy leapt up, rushing to her side.

"I'm fine." she smiled reassuringly. Slow thumping steps staggered down the stairs behind her. Clasping his red cheek softly with a pout on his lips and his scarf almost slipping awkwardly off his shoulder was Natsu. A bright red hand mark glowed like paint on his cheek.

"You didn't have to hit me." Natsu mumbled, glaring at her with gentle, soft eyes. Levy read the relief and relaxation inside of him like her favorite book.

"I did." Lucy sighed, stalking over to the crowded cluster of mages.

"Lucy~!" Happy wailed flying towards her. Side-stepping to the left, Happy missed crashing and knocking over the dragon slayer as collateral.

"I don't remember who this man is," Lucy gestured to the note and dress. "And I'm not waiting for this _'soon'_. Until Erza, Gray and Gajeel come back, I'm going home." Lucy demanded without any room for objection, and stormed out into the winter night before anyone could protest.

"Quickly Happy, after her!" Natsu leapt up and ran for the door.

"Aye sir!" Happy chimed, sprouting wings and darting after him.

"I hope Erza comes back soon," Levy whispered to herself softly as she watched the doors close in silence.

"A Shadow? What shadow?" Gray demanded, feeling frustrated and confused due to the fact he couldn't follow the conversation.

"Sit down boy, and I'll tell you the whole story." Silver snapped impatiently. Gray pouted, sitting on the floor next to Gajeel and Erza.

"Continue." Erza demanded sternly. Issac sent her a sharp glare before he cleared his throat and began again.

"About thirty years ago, I was youthful and already an infamous hacker mage. I had recently earned the nickname _'Silver Fox'_ for hacking into council information, when I met a strange man who called himself Jaedou. He was a genius and very charismatic. He came and told me all about his big ideas for the world of magic and spells. I was recruited to join him. I accepted, of course. He had charmed me into feeling necessary in his big plans. Jaedou's theories were about using magical energy to increase our longevity.

"A few years later, he came to me and told me he had found an artifact that draws out another's magical energy. All he needed to do was get it to work. It took me just about five years until it was complete. The artifact worked only under moonlight and one of our other friends who Jaedou had recruited, volunteered to be the first test subject."

"The way the artifact works is that when the moon is at its highest point in the sky, it absorbed its energy as a conductor for magical energy. A fine needle then pierces the user through his back into the core of your magic energy. The moon energy drags out his magic energy and transfers it to a capsule which can be injected into another."

"However, the moon's energy capabilities were underestimated. The energy absorbed every ounce of magical energy out of the young lad. He died during the experiment. Other than that, the trial was successful."

"Jaedou took it upon himself to test the vial of energy first. He suffered a great deal of pain for a long time. Once it subsided, he realized that his body had begun to show signs of regeneration. Except the effects didn't last long; a few months at most."

"In order to keep his body regenerating, Jaedou began kidnapping those with high magic energy capabilities. Each and every one was killed by the machine. As years and years passed, Jaedou became obsessed with it, demanding many more lives. Until one day, he snapped."

"I tried convincing Jaedou to stop but he forced the girl he loved onto the machine. Jaedou turned it on. By the time he realized what he had done, it was too late and she was dead."

"That night Jaedou left and I didn't see him for ten years."

"One night I was hacking a high up business man's home for information to trade for money. Jaedou suddenly appeared and he looked horrible. His body was deteriorating and the aging process of his body was twice as fast. He begged for me to save him, to help. We returned to the artifact and Jaedou found a street junky that happen to have high magic energy levels."

"That night was what kicked the circle back in motion. It was all too Deja vú. His body became adapted to the injections and he barely felt the change, he was just a little uncomfortable for a while. Jaedou went mad in the past, but this Jaedou was calm, collected and rational which was much worst. He recruited enough men for a small hit team, making me its leader. We were sent to kidnap more and more people, caging them up like slaves in cells, and killing them off one by one.

"One day, Jaedou came to me with a request. Normally, he left me to write the bingo book, but an ally of his, requested to be rid of a young business man's daughter. Jaedou didn't mind, and accepted."

"The night of that very same day, I lead my team to infiltrate and kidnap the young, Lady Lucy Heartfilia."

"Lucy? You kidnapped Lucy, you fiend!" Erza snapped.

"The one and only." Silver smirked, his fox's tail swaying.

"That can't be right." Gray protested. "A while back Lucy told us that she was _almost_ kidnapped. _Almost._ "

"She probably doesn't remember, well, it's more like she's beginning to remember something she forgot a long time ago." Issac purred with a bitter smile.

"But-!" Gray protested.

"Are you going to let me finish, boy?" Silver hissed.

"I'm no boy, you old geezer." Gray retorted.

"Gray, shut up." Erza snapped. "Continue." She demanded harshly, turning on the old, grey man.

"We took Lucy and kept her locked up in a cell with another young aristocrat lass. We never bothered with her much. At the time we hadn't known much about her and she stayed down there for a few weeks. We always had others we could use for the experiments, so we never really needed her."

"Times became a little tight when our hauls got lower. On a whim, Jaedou just said to use the girl and get whatever little we can from her. She was a fearsome little brat. The three scars on my forehead were from where the runt had clawed at me. In the end, I managed to haul her down to the artifact and bolted her up. Many children like her had died on that ancient alter before. The girl she was locked up with died two days earlier. But, she was different. Lucy exceeded the scale of the machine. Magic energy was pouring out of her in gallons. Her magic capacity was impossibly large for such a little girl. She managed to overload the artifact and we had to shut it down before it exploded."

"Lucy was amazing. She was far more powerful than any mage I had came across in my lifetime. We hadn't noticed it until then because a seal was placed on her and locked away most of that power. The needle hits the core of your magic and can override any seal. However, the seal was powerful so we were only able to open it up a fraction."

"Jaedou was overwhelmed. He ordered Lucy to be treated straight away and to dispose of any other potentials. We did as we were told."

"Once Lucy recovered, he made me alter the machine to fit for Lucy's capacity. It took a few weeks, but I managed to fix the machine. However, it would only work through a direct transfer. The risks were high and Jaedou knew he could die but he volunteered himself."

"Jaedou tricked Lucy with his pretty words and made her cooperate. He broke her will down so there was nothing left of that feisty child I met. At first, Lucy would often cry and scream in pain while she was on the artifact. After so many times, she stopped crying or fighting. Lucy became lifeless."

"Her magic's effects on Jaedou was different than any kind before. He became stronger, his own magic strength increased rapidly. Other than just showing signs of rejuvenation, his body had actually looked frozen in time. Jaedou had legitimately become immortal."

"It wasn't long before Jaedou was discovered. Then they appeared. White cloaks with black crosses over them; the priests of knowledge. It was a gruesome battle but they managed to defeat Jaedou and rescue Lucy. I fled, hoping to escape. Jaedou's cries echoed in me that night and I knew- No, I _thought,_ he was dead."

"A few months ago, I received a present. It was the head of a silver fox. I knew right then he was alive. That's when I set in motion a plan to be hidden here, in a prison where no one knew I existed. Even the government hid my existence from the world."

The atmosphere shivered into stone, weighing heavily on their shoulders. "So...it's Jaedou who's coming for Lucy?" Gray whispered softly, trying to speak through the lump in his throat.

"What can we do? This guy sounds bad. Really bad." Gajeel mumbled, shifting uncomfortably in his place.

"Don't underestimate him; He's your worst nightmare." Silver growled, his lips turning up in a snarl.

"So, how do we defeat him?" Gray growled back.

"Kid, do you know what Jaedou is in Kanji?" Silver mused.

"Shadow." Gajeel whispered in a low, dark tone.

"You can't hide from a shadow. All you can do is pray to God that you'll get to see Lucy one last time." Silver hissed venomously. "Because once he finds her, you'll never see her again!"

"We need to go. NOW! GO!" Erza snapped, sending them all bolting up the steps.

"It's too late." Silver whispered softly.

  


 


	5. Winter's Bite

Lucy looked out at the cold winter night, letting the breeze flow through her hair. Warmth glowed behind her as Natsu moved up towards her. "Winter's such a beautiful season." Lucy spoke softly.

"Are you hoping for snow?" Natsu asked, leaning over the ledge, sticking his face out in the breeze next to Lucy's.

"Yeah." Lucy sighed with a calm smile. "I really hope it snows." Natsu turned to her with a gentle expression and smiled the big goofy grin she adored. She giggled, looking back out to the vacant night streets. "Thanks Natsu."

"For what?" Natsu asked distantly.

"Protecting me." Lucy sighed with a gentle breath of cold air. Natsu turned to her sharply in surprise. It settled into a thin line as he smiled, draping a heavy arm over her shoulder.

"Anytime, Luce!" Natsu gave her a thumbs up. "We're nakama after all." Lucy nodded giving him a small high-five.

"Let's get some sleep." Lucy said, closing the window. Natsu leapt across to her bed, almost reaching its soft cozy sheets. "Couch!" Lucy snapped, freezing Natsu stiff. A pout set hard on his face as he turned and sulked back over to the couch.

Lucy tossed and turned, but sleep wouldn't come. Rolling onto her side, she sighed in frustration. Across the room, she saw pink hair glittering under the light pouring through her window. Soft, gentle snoring whistled across the room. For some reason, Lucy felt at peace watching the dragon slayer sleep. Seeing him calm kind of reflected inside of her. A blush crept up on her cheeks and her heart skipped a little beat. What am I doing?, Lucy gasped in thought. "It's just because I'm tired." Lucy deduced, rising from her bed to get a glass of water.

As she walked back to bed with a half-full glass of water in hand, she stopped by the couch. Brown eyes slid across the couch and landed on the sleeping boy. Natsu's face and expression looked adorable as he mumbled some kind of insult to Gray. "You're so cute when you sleep." Lucy whispered, setting the glass on the table. For a while, Lucy crouched beside him, watching the boy's strange sleeping face.

Subconsciously, she had reached out to touch his soft pink hair. When she realized, she retracted her hand quickly and stood up. "What am I doing?" Lucy whispered. She shook her head softly at herself. Her hand rustled Happy's blue fur and he rumbled and little purr. Lucy chuckled, turned and moved to go back to bed.

Something clasped around her wrist, jerking her back. Lucy tumbled backwards into a warm chest and arms that wrapped around her waist. Lucy gasped as a voice mumbled behind her. "Luce is mine~!" Lucy's heart went wild in her chest, pumping a hot sensation across her body. Lucy didn't need to see to know she was blushing.

Instinctively, Lucy fought Natsu's strong embrace and escaped, scrambling backwards. "What was that?" Lucy huffed, trying to catch her breath. Natsu slept soundless, with Happy snoring at his feet. Lucy shakily stood up, watching Natsu with a gentle disbelief. "That shocked me."

"It should." A voice whispered behind her, like gentle silk. Lucy gasped as a hand snapped over her mouth. She was dragged backwards into strong arms that easily fought her attempt at escape. A scream tried to escape her mouth but it was smothered into a silent murmur. Lucy's arm reached down to her belt. It wasn't there. Lucy's hand patted her waist desperately. A glint across the room caught her eye. Her belt! It was sat on the dresser on the far end of the room. She...She'd taken it off. Legs kicked, arms wriggled and her head shook, but Lucy couldn't break free. She was losing the fight and getting dragged back on her heels. Natsu and Happy slept peacefully on the couch, unaware of the situation.

Her only chance was to get their attention. She was nearing the door, inches from the couch, grazing distance from the table beside it. The table! That was it! Still sat close to the edge of the small table, was the glass of water, one knock from falling. Getting as close as she could, Lucy swung her leg. It hooked around the table leg and she pulled. The glass jerked sideways, rocked and tipped, falling hard towards the floor. A flutter of hope burst in Lucy's heart.

A hand sprang out of nowhere, catching the glass and water in one fluid motion. Another man in black had appeared. That was her last chance. Hope vanished and she was slipping out of the door. The other man sighed silently in relief as a small drip of sweat trickled down his face. It dripped from his chin, falling to the floor. Before he could react, it landed with a splash on the floor. Lucy felt the man holding her's head snap to the side at the man. The other man looked petrified. Lucy could only seem him in the doorway before she was jerked back down the stairs.

Glass smashing echoed through the foyer, making the man hasten his pace. The man threw open the building door, swinging Lucy's struggling body threw it.

Suddenly, something cashed in front of her from above, spitting torn up concrete and dust.

"And I was hopin' for this to be simple." Her capturer's voice groaned softly. As the dust cleared, Lucy could make out a pink blur standing in their way.

"Natsu!" Lucy yelped under the cover of the man's hand.

"You!" his voice rippled as he stepped out the smoke. "GIVE LUCY BACK TO ME!" he yelled, throwing a flaming punch straight towards his face. A hiss snapped from the man's lips into her ear. The man whirled backwards, recoiling back into the house and dragging Lucy along.

Suddenly, figures in black began to pour out the shadows. They began filing in the door, blocking Natsu's path.

Lucy was dragged and dragged through the floors of the corridor. They passed through a small kitchen. A little red stove, microwave and blue counters were scattered over the white tiled floor. Brown orbs jumped around, taking in everything like she was on an adrenalin rush. Lucy caught something in the corner of her eyes. There was an open doorway with a crack giving way to a streak of view into the next room. Still, wide red high heel shoes filled with thick, short legs peaked through. The landlady! A whimper of fright escaped out of her smothered lips. Was she dead? No. She won't be. They probably just knocked her out. Still, she couldn't let them get away with it.

Noise and voiceless rattles echoed through the corridor. Lucy wriggled more and more, kicking and throwing herself back and forth. Lucy managed to get a good kick in his knee and his leg buckled. As the man fell, he collapsed against the door they came through, slamming it closed. Before he got up, Lucy quickly ransacked the draws until she found something useful. Holding a silver stained butchers knife in one hand and a fine pointed knife in the other, Lucy wielded them at him.

Dressed in black, leather attire, he wore a mask and a hat that dipped and the top half of his face. Long, jet hair spilled down half his back, tied in a low hanging pony tail. Dark eyes looked up under the narrow cut of the rim of his hat, watching her intensely. The hat dropped back down.

Lucy's hands shook as the blades felt heavy in her hand. Those eyes were so...familiar. An image flashed across her eyes. _A tall man with dark eyes. They were masked by the shadows, coating the hallway. The barred gate swung open with a horrifying creak. Shiny, glossed shoes took an echoing footstep into the light. Shadows reeled up his dark suit, as moon light washed over his open white shirt and loose silk tie. A sharp chin pierced the shadows into the light. Then his eyes protruded into view, but were still pods of dark abyss. That cold loneliness they radiated felt like it was choking her without sound._

Lucy came crashing back into reality, thrown back into the little kitchen that turned bland and cold. "Y...You...I...I know you!" Lucy stuttered, the blades slipping from her fingers. They landed with an echoing clatter against the floor. It was like a train had crashed straight into her, crushing her chest. All the strength in her legs bled out and she dropped weakly to her knees. Cold tiles numbed against her body that radiated heat and burned, but was slowly freezing on the inside.

"Good," his silky voice whispered. "It would hurt my feeling if ya didn't." Slowly, his body rose up, using the door to stand.

"...I do...But...I don't know. I know but-" Lucy mumbled. A force pounded against her skull. It was like she had been trapped in a bubble for so long and she couldn't escape. Slowly tearing herself apart, wanting- needing to escape. "I know but...who are you?" Lucy whimpered her hands pushing against her temples.

"Damn." The guy growled, dropping to his knees next to her. Lucy mumbled frantically, pushing harder and harder against her head. The man sighed, slipping a hand into his jacket pocket. What he drew out, was a slim, sharp needle. Blue-red liquid glittered in the dim-kitchen lighting. Lucy ignored him, trying to settle her exploding thoughts, expanding and bursting like fireworks in her brain.

The man ripped off the cap and smoothly slid it into her air. Pressure pounded in her arm, pushing into her veins like a solid. Lucy gasped, scrambling backwards. She scuttled back desperately until she collided with the little blue-painted wall. Thoughts slipped from her grasp and her mind went blank. Someone approached, moving slowly like a stalking black cat.

"Lucy." The man called. It was like a soothing lullaby washing over her mind. But a sour taste was dry on her tongue. Lucy stumbled up to her feet, catching another door to her right. It was hidden in the corner, so she hadn't seen it before. Lucy swung it open and a freezing, blundering breeze burst into the room.

"Lucy wait!" His soft voice called behind her as he cautiously approached. She didn't wait. Lucy threw herself out the door and darted into a dark, damp alley. She didn't like him. ' _Bad, Bad, Bad'_ the thought resounded, the feeling echoing in her body, bouncing of her bones.

An icy chill skated up her feet, numbing her skin with frost. Impulse made her sprint left, following the corners. Navy blue skies, clotted with heavy grey clouds, loomed above her. Footsteps pounded behind her, overtaking her pace.

She found herself searching, searching for someone. Not just anyone, but a specific someone. Lucy darted out of the alley, falling into a barren street. Water rushed down a canal beside her, whistling the biting wind. A black carriage lined with silver brass and hooked to two jet shire stallions was waiting a few buildings down. A crater threw up the concrete street into rubble and dust.

For some strange reason, she felt drawn to it. Well, not really it, being the crater, but more for the reason it was there. Why was it there? What did it? Who? Something told her she knew, but the thoughts just wouldn't come. Nevertheless, her bare feet urged her forwards to where her safety waited.

A group of men dressed in black flew backwards onto the pavement ahead of her. Lucy came to a slow stop, scanning them without the slightest edge of sympathy. Footsteps behind her grew louder, coming closer and closer. Lucy flinched as her body jolted forwards into a sprint.

As she darted past the open door of the building, she heard a voice screaming inside. Her body kept moving ignored the sound.

Lucy's feet involuntarily stopped as she heard a voice called out crystal clear. "Lucy!" It called behind her. Her heart began to race, pumping a tingling sensation throughout her body. Unlike before, when the man called her name, it felt warm and welcoming, beckoning the protection and strength she desired.

Suddenly, the urge inside of her made her body whirl, her voice unconsciously calling out a name that burned a longing and warmth for him. "NATSU!" The familiarity rolled off her tongue, with a smile glistening on her lips.

Scraggly pink hair sprung out in random spikes. A strong built body was covered in bruises and cuts. Dark, onyx eyes washed over her with concern. The white scaly scarf floated around his neck. Red hot flames dissipated from his clenched fists, squeezing with intensity. His strained face settled into a relieved smile. "Lu-" his voice whispered softly before his face suddenly contorted with shock. "LUCY!" Natsu cried, his body jumping into a run.

Lucy didn't even notice the shadow of the man loom up behind her. The pale, strong fingers silently pushed into her throat. The slow steady pulse of his body pounded gently on her skin. Soft, gentle breath steamed and melted against her numb skin. Though gentle and soft, his hands were pounding magic energy down her throat. Lucy gasped a startled cough of shock. It was practically pouring out of him. The tingle of magic felt familiar and welcomed by her body as if it was hers to begin with. It rushed and absorbed into her skin, filling a small empty space inside of her.

"I'll be seein' you again," His voice whispered in her ear, colder than the winter air. "I'll be waitin'." like a cloud of smoke, he disappeared, his hand slipping from her neck.

Breaking out into a sprint, Lucy ran and ran as fast as she could until the warmth of his chest pressed warmly against her cheek. Strong arms wrapped around her shoulders, pulling her in tight. Cold tears slid down her cheeks as she sobbed in fright as her body shivered in fear. "Sh, calm down, Luce. It's okay; he's gone." Natsu whispered frantically, scared of Lucy's fright, unable to do anything but hold her.

"I was so, _so_ scared." Lucy cried, her hands tightening around Natsu's back, holding on as hard as she could. Natsu held her tightly as she cried on the cold chilling nights of the on coming winter.


	6. Ours

Happy appeared a while later with the entire guild at his heels. By then, Lucy had cried herself to sleep, confused and exhausted, clinging to the dragon slayer's warmth.

Natsu brought Lucy to the guild, keeping her close as he explained everything that happened. Lucy slept, clinging tightly to the dragon slayer as he sat at the guild tables. Her blond hair sprawled down his back as her head rested on his shoulder, nestled into his neck. Tear tracks on her cheeks were fading and the smell of salt was growing faint. Dark onyx eyes couldn't bear seeing the black and blue bruises along her neck. Dragging the white, scaled scarf off, he wrapped it softly and snugly around her neck, hiding them from view.

Natsu was glad she was sleeping so at least she wasn't crying. It hurt so much seeing her cry. He absoloutely hated it. But worst of all, he felt powerless, unable to do anything to protect her from those tears. What kind of friend was he if all he could do was hold her when she cried?

Happy's eyes drifted from the group of mages surrounding him, falling onto the pink haired dragon slayer. He was huddled up in a guild booth with Lucy by his side, under his strong, protective arm, far away from discussion. Leaving the Fairy Tail mage circle, he made a cautious move over to where he sat. It was obvious on his face, the emotion; anger, frustration, pain, sorrow, grief and fear. After hearing what happened, Happy understood that Lucy could have been seriously hurt, and that bothered Natsu like the plague.

"Natsu," a voice called softly from behind the blue furry cat. Gently, a hand rested on Happy's narrow shoulder as a silver- haired mage passed. Mira gave Happy a reassuring smile and sat down across from the dragon slayer. Happy nodded and floated back to the stratifying guild members.

Natsu's head rested on Lucy's, his eyes slowly acknowledging the bar maids prescense. When he realised, he lifted his head and yawned. Before replying, he checked if Lucy was awake, which she wasn't, and then turned to Mira.

"Hey, Mira." Natsu groggily whispered, cautious not to wake Lucy up.

"Sorry, did I wake you?" Mira apologised sympathetically, keeping her voice low.

"No. Just a little tired s'all." Natsu replied, gentle dropping his head back onto Lucy's soft, golden hair.

"You must be." Mira empathised, placing a flat, pale hand on the table. Natsu made a small gesture for a nod and let his eyes droop, dozing off into a world basked in strawberry and vanilla. Mira smiled softly, turning to look at the large group of bickering mages, coming up with crazy ideas.

"It's not your fault, Natsu." Mira spoke, not looking at him. Dark eyes flickered over to her, watching Mira's distant gaze. His heart jumped, squeezing and aching in his chest.

"Yeah," Natsu blandly replied. Turning a pale face, Mira's eyes looked at Lucy softly. A gap peaked in the scarf, showing the darkening bruises of fingertips decorating her neck. Natsu gently pulled the white scarf up to her chin, covering the bruises.

"Natsu." Mira whispered softly. A long silence stretched, turning empty and cold.

"She could have died," Natsu finally spoke. "Right there and then. And I wouldn't have been able to do anything about it. Nothing."

"Nat-" Mira tried to interrupt but the dragon slayer cut her off.

"I let my friend get hurt. And that's on me. So, I will take responsibility, and I will find this guy, whoever the heck he is," Natsu's voice turned into a threatening, determined growl, lifting higher than a whisper, catching the ears of the guild members. "and I will beat him ten-fold for what he's done. He has hurt our irreplaceable friend and made himself an enemy of Fairy Tail. We will not let him get away with hurting our nakama!"

For a long moment, the guild was quiet. It was Happy who broke the silence. "AYE SIR!" he yelled. Suddenly, the guild roared like a chain reaction, cheering with determination and anger. They all wanted to help Lucy, and they would die trying. Natsu wouldn't let that guy get away with what he's done, and nor would Fairy Tail. Mira looked among the rallied mages with surprise, and then a small twang of love. This was her guild. This was Fairy Tail. And this, is what nakama are. Mira turned to Natsu, seeing his eyes ablaze with dark anguish.

Suddenly, the guild doors exploded open letting cold air burst in with winter's chilling bite. Stood in the open doorway, was Erza, Gray and Gajeel. The three mages burst into the guild, faces teased in worry and anxiety.

It only took a second for Erza to see something had happened. They were too late. They were relieved to see Lucy asleep next to Natsu, hiding away in the guild corner. Other guild members were present and cluttered at the top of the guild. It must have been serious since alert was fixed hard on everyone of their faces.

"Erza, Gray, Gajeel." Master charged towards them. "What did you find?"

Erza explained in detail about what information they had found whilst talking to Issac Silver. She apologized for not arriving sooner, but the master snapped her back in line. Though it is easy to blame oneself, the truth is hard to accepted, but sometimes the hard path is the right one.

Natsu sat with Mira, Gray and Happy in silence, wondering what to do about their favorite celestial wizard, still asleep.

Warmth cooked her like a frosty winter's fire. A tense pounding strained her throat. A silky smoothness soothed over it, wrapped around her neck. Voice muttered distantly in her ear and footsteps paced up and drown across the wood paneled floors. Soft breathing whispered closely in her ear, in sync with the rise and fall of her body. The soothing, rough smell of burnt toast tickled her nose. A hard, soft build supported her limp, weak body. Something rested on her head, gently letting her own head fit into the nape of their neck.

Lucy slowly cracked open her eyes, peaking at the surroundings. They felt dry and sore as they opened. At first, everything looked like colorful blurs, barely moving. Eventually, the images focused into the people she knew. Gray sat slouched back in the booth with his arms crossed over his bare chest, his eyes looking absently in the distance. Where did his shirt go?, Lucy thought numbly. Mira twiddled a thin piece of silver hair between her fingers, watching it with the same distracted gaze. A blue fur ball sat on the table picking at a fish bone with his sharp claws, picking meat out of the nooks and crannies. Her did it with slow, long turns of his talons, silent in deep thought.

Lucy watched them for a while, putting aside the distant muttering.

Slowly, she began to fade from her trance, half-asleep state. At the same time, a hard, burning pressure grabbed her throat. The harsh scratching set in rapidly, sending her lunging up from her seat. Everyone around her jumped in surprise as she let out a harsh rasp of coughs. "Lucy!" Happy gasped. Mira leapt up from the table and darted to the kitchen, returning with a glass of water. When Lucy had a gasp, she quickly swallowed down the water, temporarily soothing her sore throat. A second after, she almost began choking on the water. Gray jumped in to quickly swipe the glass out of her hand. Mira patted her on the back gently as she calmed.

When she finally did, Mira left to make her some honey laced tea. Lucy reached up and felt the silky, warm material around her neck. As she looked down, she realized what it was. She had wondered why it felt so familiar. Natsu's dragon scale scarf rested snugly round her aching neck. A flutter of her heart lead a small blush to rise on her cheeks. However, it all sank too quickly. Lucy's fingers clutched the fabric, feeling its delicate strength. She knew what would lay under there, but, she had to see. Slowly, she took a deep breath and tugged the fabric.

A strong, warm hand clasped gently, but firmly around hers, stopping it still. Eyes traced along the warm, tanned, strong arm. Soon, she found her gaze staring into a black abyss. It swarmed her like a fire, swallowing her into the guilt, sorrow and pain. Its dark hold, clasped around her heart, sticking like oil, getting heavier the longer she looked. Lucy stared at the dragon slayer, letting him pull her into his existence. But the weight of his hand felt heavy, holding her in reality. She couldn't hide in Natsu's existence forever. She wanted- No, _needed_ , to see. With a gentle shake of her head, the raven eyes dropped, stuck with the hard oily blackness wallowing and bubbling inside of him. The stone weight of his hand slid softly away from hers. Dark eyes flickered back to her as she pulled the fabric again.

The silk scarf shifted and slid from her shoulders, falling into a weak pile on her lap. Next, she reached towards Mira who set down her tea and handed her a small pocket mirror. "Lucy, I don't think-" Mira tried to change her mind. But, Lucy went on, leaving the girl's voice to drift out of sound. Pink and white jewels decorated the reflective mirror in her hand. They glimmered and sparkled, refracting light as Lucy tilted it towards her.

Black and blue bruises rested on her neck in a strange curved arc around her throat. the shape of the fingers were easy to make out against her pale skin tone. Lucy felt the throb of the bruises pound higher, aware of their presence inside and out. The mirror in her hand felt like a heavy rock, and Lucy's hand shook as she tried to set it gently on the table. "Lucy?" Gray asked, watching her hands retract to sit calmly on her lap. Muscles contracted and twitched under her skin, clenching her jaw. Brown eyes set hard on the mirror on the table with a burning intensity, but cold as ice.

"Luce?" Natsu whispered in her ear, his hand wavering to reach out and touch hers. Eye lids dropped down over her dark honey eyes, letting the silence sink in. Lucy stayed quiet for a long moment, waiting.

At last, she felt it pass and her fists relaxed and her shoulders fell back into the chair. A long loud sigh growled from her lips. The tense atmosphere rumbled and shattered. Pieces fell as the guild fell into relaxation. A small smile tugged at the edges of her lips into a steady curve. "It's okay. I'm okay." She whispered softly, more to herself than anyone. "I'm okay."

"But Luce-" Natsu interrupted, his eyes burning with the pained flames of concern.

"Natsu." Lucy spoke softly, interrupting him with a firm precision. Natsu moved back an inch, staring achingly at her closed eyes facing up to the ceiling. Slowly, those eyes opened, revealing big, brown pools. They rolled as she turned her head, lifting her body to sit straight. She watched Natsu full in the face, her eyes taking a strong hold on his. He found it impossible to move, to look away, to even breath. Something had a hold on Natsu, something in her eyes was gripping onto him with a force that made his heart squeeze. "I'm scared." She bluntly spoke. Small gasps escaped in a choir around them, glancing at her in surprise. "But, that's okay." her voice softened, but her eyes didn't blink or look away from the pinned dragon slayer. "It's okay to be scared, because I've got you." Lucy smiled. Natsu looked at Lucy in disbelief. It was like she was glowing, beaming with a pure, unnerving light. Natsu knew what it was in her that he saw; strength. Lucy was much stronger than anyone realised, maybe even stronger than himself. Lucy was strong in an entirely different way. It was all because she believed. In herself. In them...In him.

Natsu felt the entire atmosphere shift. Lucy made that happen and Natsu knew exactly what to do with it. "Lucy's right!" Natsu snapped. " We will protect Lucy because she is _our_ fellow wizard, a member of _our_ Fairy Tail, _our_ nakama!" Natsu roared, setting onto the table. "LET'S KICK THIS GUY'S ASS!" Natsu set his fists into roaring flames, burning with the passion to fight.

"AYE SIR!" The guild rallied in response, the fight burning inside of them like Natsu's fists. Relieved and glowing with determination, the guild scattered about, rushing to find leads and clues.

Natsu nodded with a grunt of approval and jumped down from the table. A grin plastered Lucy's lips as Natsu turned to find her beside him. "Well done, Natsu." Lucy laughed. The celestial wizard stepped forward, reaching her arms around his neck. She leaned in, pushing around her tip toes. The silky fabric of the white, scaled scarf dropped around his neck, falling over his torso. "Much better." Lucy nodded with satisfaction, her hands sitting on her hips giving him a look up and down.

Swiftly, warm arm grabbed her shoulders and pulled her quickly into a hard, strong chest. Natsu's arms wrapped around her tightly like he never wanted to let go. "Don't worry, Luce; I'll protect you, I swear!" Natsu whispered his vow into her ear. The hushed words engraved like a plaque of gold into her heart, never to be broken, never to wear away, to be there, forever.

"N- Natsu." Lucy hushed in shock, finding that his name was all she was capable of saying. Warmth flushed over her entire body, her heart squeezed tightly and her existence tingled with an energy she had never felt before. A small, almost inaudible sigh escaped his lips, brushing across Lucy's neck, sending electricity jolting through her bones. Muscles in his arms relaxed, and to Lucy's hidden dismay, hesitantly slipped away. Dark eyes locked softly onto hers. At her bewildered expression, Natsu felt a small giggle arise. Confusion shifted into her beautiful, big eyes, looking up at him.

"We're nakama, right Luce?" Natsu smiled, baring his signature, mischievous and adoring grin.

A small voice in Lucy's head told her that maybe, they were more than what he claimed. But, right then, it was all Lucy needed.

"Right!" Lucy agreed, giving a thumbs up and a smile of her own.


	7. Strength

Days past without a sound or hint from whomever the man was or what his intentions were.

Things on the other end were just a quiet. The guild had found barely anything. Leads turned up cold and there was no witness or files on the case. Also, without an identity on their attacker, there wasn't anyway to get the reports on the incident. There was also the fact that the government had destroyed and covered up the entire thing. The man was a ghost. Not only that, but their only lead, Issac Silver, the notorious Silver Fox and former associate of the man in black, known as Jaedou, had escaped from his top-security cell and gone missing.

During everything, Lucy began to recover small fractions of her memory. Sadly, all were insignificant and couldn't help in their search, leading them back to square one. "We're getting nowhere!" Gray growled, plucking his buttons on the white shirt he wore in frustration.

"And I really want to kick his ass!" Natsu sulked with his head laid on the table.

"Don't worry, Natsu. We'll get him!" Erza encouraged, putting a heavy gauntlet on his shoulder, grimacing at Natsu's distorted expression.

"Maybe it's a good thing we haven't found him. I bet he realised how strong Fairy Tail was and ran for the hills." Lucy joined in, half-enthusiastic, half-something else. The smile on her lip settled into a straight line as she turned away, looking out into the dark night of the wintery sky. Natsu and everyone quieted, watching her sorrowfully. Until Natsu decided to do a somersault on top of the table and pick a fight with Gray. Gray lunged for the dragon slayer and the two went rolling in a heap of flying fists and kicks. Lucy watched them with amusement.

"Lively as ever, eh?" Erza commented mildly.

"Yeah," Lucy laughed. "I'm glad."

"After all this, we need to go for a picnic." Erza suggested.

"Yeah. Let's invite the whole guild this time." Lucy added, looking around the homey building.

Make-shift bed's scattered around on floors, tables and benches for those who wanted to stay. Many of those who did stay, slept in the Fairy Tail dorm. Spare rooms were made for those who lived outside the guild. Mages made regular trips in and out the guild; tracing leads, following inquiries or helping out with the general chores of the guild. Everyone took turns going out and completing emergency and immediate jobs. Many other wizards from guilds of Fairy Tail's allies came to visit and help out. Lucy was pretty amazed by the entire work force they had accumulated, and it was all for her.

Lucy went along with Erza for a while, helping Mira deliver rounds of tea, coffee and food for the working guild mates. They mindlessly chatted about nice places to go when the weather turns warmer. Maybe the cliffs? It had a great view of the ocean. Though, Lucy would have to make sure none of them idiotically falls of the edge. Who knows? A strong current like Magnolia's sea could drag you off to some random island somewhere. She could bake a cake! It had been a while since she last made one. They endlessly chatted and worked until Levy came galloping over.

"Lucy!" She called in her sweet little voice, coming up beside her.

"Hey Levy, want some tea?" Lucy asked, holding the last cup.

"Ah, no thanks." Levy rejected kindly. A passing hand plucked it from Lucy's hand and floated away. Cana downed it like a shot, rushing through guild members and calling out raged insults. "Wow, Cana's been sober for a few days now. I didn't think she'd be doing so well." Levy commented, genuinely surprised. Lucy, a little shocked too, nodded in agreement. Levy scooted in the closest empty booth and cleared an area out of all the scattered paper, books and folders and boxes of information. Lucy slid in next to her and looked inquisitively at the book in front of her.

It was a small hard-back edition book with a wrinkled spine revealing its long years of age and wear. The pages were yellow and gave the musty kind of smell Lucy loved in old books. Apparently, if you sniff a lot of books like that you can get high, like you were on drugs. The white italic writing had faded into a dull, chipped and fading grey on the wrinkled pages, making the title illegible, except for the writing at the bottom. Lucy read, cleaning off dust remaining on the book. "Written by Zeron Amire. That name rings a bell." Lucy noticed.

"Zeron Amire wrote fictional stories based on non-fiction events happening during his time of work." Levy added.

"So, what's so special about this one?" Lucy asked giving it a dull, uninterested stare.

"As it so happens," Levy began, swiping the book into her arms, protecting it from Lucy's cold stare. The stellar mage gave her a soft roll of her eyes. "This book, was written about twenty years ago. If we believe Silver's story..." Levy drifted, setting the book down in front of them.

"Then it will contain clues during the time people went missing." Lucy finished her off. "But I thought the public didn't know about it."

"Those who knew Zeron claimed him to have been a _very_ resourceful man." Levy slightly purred.

"But the government hid everything." Lucy protested.

"The government didn't realize this book contains clues relating to the crime." Levy countered again, her voice showing her growing irritation.

"But they have to have read it, right?" Lucy argued again.

"They just don't know how to read between the lines like we do!" Levy announced proudly opening the cover.

"But-" Lucy whimpered.

"Lucy!" Levy snapped, turning on her quickly. Lucy flinched, shutting her mouth closed. Levy sighed. "It's okay, I know you're worried, but finding him is a good thing. You don't want to be running from him forever, do you?" Levy softly reassured the girl, squeezing her hands tightly around Lucy's. Relinquishing her fight, Lucy gave up and nodded. With that, Lucy was handed a pair of wind reader glasses and began to read.

A few moments later, Lucy slipped of the glasses, setting them softly on the table. Levy held the book and continued flicking through. Slowly, Lucy lifted her body up out the booth. Leather creaked under her tight grip and the table moaned. Levy stopped and looked up. "Lu? What is it?" Levy asked, setting down the book, staring at the back of her golden head.

"The monster that l- lurks." Lucy's voice faltered, her shoulder shaking. Quickly levy drove back to the little book, remembering where she had seen it. She found it; Page 132.

"The monster that lurks does not hide in solitude, but stalks in the dark. For where there is darkness, there is a-" Levy recited slowly.

Suddenly Lucy slumped to the floor. Her hands cradled her head, as her body shook. She managed to push herself up onto her hands and knees. White teeth gritted down, fighting the pain in her head. "Natsu!" Levy called frantically across the guild. Lucy's arms drained of energy and she buckled under her weight.

Strong arm caught her before she face planted the floor, dragging her into a warm embrace from behind. Natsu leaned back against the back of the booth, holding Lucy up against him.

Finally, Lucy's body caved and relaxed, sinking into Natsu's strong chest. Sweat trickled down her face and breaths became hard to grasp with her racing heart beat.

Mira fetched a mug of coffee with milk, cream and two sugars, crouching down besides the pair. Using his body as support, Natsu pushed Lucy up to sit, holding her steady with his arms. Mira put the mug and gave her little sips that she could manage. Wendy had figured out a recipe for a drink to boost Lucy's energy and mixed it with her mostly milk coffee. Normally she would pass out after her headaches, but this helped keep her conscious.

Headaches came often when Lucy remembered something about her past. Natsu, Mira and sometimes Wendy or others, would help Lucy during and after each one. In turn, she told them everything she could remember. Until the headache completely subsided, Lucy couldn't tell them anything.

Lucy began to regain her energy and Natsu helped her up to a table, settling her in beside Levy. A worst than normal headache still throbbed in her head and a wave of dizziness and nausea swept over her. No matter how much Mira persuaded Lucy to drink the water, she refused. Just looking at it made her stomach churn. Water helped with her headache but she couldn't relieve herself that way this time. Not feeling as sick as she did.

"Natsu." Lucy grumbled, burying her head in between her arms.

"Yeah, what is it, Luce?" Natsu asked, innocently eager to help.

"You're too hot!" She snapped, a foot sending him flying across the guild. Lucy moaned and sank back into her arms on the table.

Happy flew cautiously up to Natsu as he crumbled out of the man-shaped pit in the wall. "You okay, Natsu?" Happy whined.

"I forgot how strong sick-Lucy is." Natsu groaned from the heap of bruised limbs on the floor.

"That was stupid of you, Natsu." Happy bluntly stated, earning an irritated growl from the Natsu pile on the floor. "Need a hand?" Happy changed to sympathetic, reaching him a paw of aid.

"Aye..." Natsu grumbled.

Levy sat with Lucy until she felt better and managed to give her some water with pain-killing effects from Wendy. Sadly, the poor air dragon slayer couldn't do anything about Lucy's headache other than create the water. Poryluscia paid a visit to investigate Lucy's headache on request. Apparently it was psychological, not physical. It's Lucy's brain's reaction of shock from the suppression of the memories surfacing.

"You feeling any better, Lucy?" Wendy asked with concern.

"Good enough." Luce sighed, finishing the glass. Emptied to the bottom, Lucy set it down on the table with a silencing clink. Team Natsu, Levy, Mira and Makarov sat around the table. They became the team of relaying Lucy's memories. Levy insisted too many people would be too much pressure and shooed away the rest of the guild.

"I was in a cell with another girl. She was a friend I knew from my father's business. Lilianne Honda. I heard she had gone missing a few days ago before I was taken. We promised to stick together, that we'd make it through but-" The hint of hot tears began to well in her eyes as her voice faltered. "She died." Quiet gasps echoed from the parts of the guild as they stared in shock and disgust.

"That matches Silver's story. Lilianne must have died a few days before you were chosen." Erza interpreted softly, weary of how to put her words.

Natsu sat close by close by, not saying anything, just there. Makarov gave Lucy a small, grateful nod and regathered the guild members, going back to work. Mira set off to brew more tea with Levy's, along with Juvia's assistance. Team Natsu dispersed, leaving just Natsu and Lucy.

Tears still sat in the corner of her eyes with Lucy willing them not to fall. Natsu calmly waited next to her. Dark eyes staring calmly forward.

Spontaneously, Natsu grabbed Lucy's wrist yanking her suddenly out of the booth. His grip was gentle but forceful. "NATSU!" Lucy exclaimed in surprise. Natsu didn't hesitate and continued moving, ignoring her. The tenderness of his unmoving grip from his warm hands pulled her all the way through the guild doors.

In the guild, everyone stood still, watching the door's shut close. "Lucy?" Wendy whimpered curiously. A soft, pale hand laid gently on her shoulder. Small blue eyes looked up to the silver-haired mage behind her, smiling reassuringly.

"Don't worry, Natsu knows what he's doing." Mira said softly, handing her a hot chocolate with whip cream, chocolate shavings and miniature marshmallows. Wendy cupped her hands around it gratefully, bringing it to her face. Hot, moist steam brushed up over her chilly cheeks.

"That idiot may be pretty stupid, but, he knows Lucy best." Gray mumbled reluctantly.

"Gray..." Juvia whined girlishly. "It's secret boy love!" She squealed going into a world of her own.

"Oi! Don't go making things up on your own." Gray snapped, obviously embarrassed. But, he didn't take back what he said.

"Gray's right." Erza spoke proudly, looking at the shut doors with confidence. "Natsu can handle Lucy better than any of us."

"Natsu! Natsu!" Lucy whined as she stumbled after the pink-haired boy. Freezing winter winds skated over her skin, cutting goosebumps up her arms and legs. Where the hell was he dragging her? His wide shoulders moved swiftly under his vest, fluttering violently in the winds. Pink hair waved and shook, blown back by the breeze. Dark eyes hidden ahead of her. Did they look mad? She couldn't tell. He moved forward with long, wide strides. Lucy had to take two steps to his one. He was moving so fast, so fast that she couldn't catch up. "NATSU!" she snapped.

Natsu came to an abrupt stop with Lucy almost slamming into the back of him. His grip dropped her wrist, his hand falling to his side. Those wide shoulders didn't turn to face her. Dark eyes didn't turn to look at her. He just stood there. Tingling still vibrated around the skin on her arm, his warmth lingering from his touch. It was like a bracelet of smoothness compared to her goosebumps jacket.

Suddenly, he turned. Lucy jumped in surprise, dropping her wrist. Big arms folded over his chest, and a pout sat on his sulking face. Dark eyes traced the cracks in the pavement. "...You don't need to be strong _all_ the time." He grumbled refusing to meet her eyes.

Lucy let out a gentle laugh, moving forward. "Natsu, don't be silly." Her hand reach out to touch his warm, strong arms, wrapping like a protective shell against the cold. Lucy knew better than to think Natsu was ever cold. As her fingers went to touch him, he took a step backwards, avoiding her touch. Hurt slammed into her face, knocking her breath out of her.

Natsu's big arms tensed, wrapping tighter over his chest. Hands clutched the fabric of his vest into his fists, almost tearing through his clothes as he held as tightly as he could. All he wanted to do was giver her a hug. A simple hug. She was his _best_ friends! However, it was _because_ she was his best friend that he couldn't.

"Natsu?" She whimpered. Brown eyes fluttered all over his face, looking desperately for an explanation. A flicker of realization jumped across her expression. "Natsu, I- I need to be strong, because if I don't, I- I-" Lucy stumbled, words slipping uncontrollably from her mouth. Her body shook, not from the cold, but the emotions. Emotions she had suppressed for so long were bubbling over the edge. Pale hands wrapped around her arms anxiously.

Suddenly, her knees buckled, making her legs give way weakly underneath her. Natsu's body involuntarily leaped out to her, catching her safely in his arms.

Lucy twisted out of his grip quickly, pushing him back. Brown eyes fell to the floor, looking at it like reflective glass, as if she was looking right into herself. "I remember. I remember being that _weak, little girl_. I couldn't do anything while people died. While _she_ died! Do you know what that's like Natsu?" Lucy stopped, her body slowing and her voice softening. "No...You've always been strong. Not just physical strength." Cold, chocolate eyes made their way up to Natsu's blank, upset, shocked face. "I admired that. I wished that I had you back then. But, I didn't." Lucy's soft voice turned sharp, turning colder than the winter air. "She died right in front of me. They- they all...died." Finally, the painful, unwilling tears began to pour from her eyes, rolling down her cheeks. As they dropped onto her hands, Lucy looked at them with alienation.

Big arms quickly wrapped around her, dragging her in as close as he could. "You're strong, Lucy. So...It's okay to cry. It's okay." He whispered, burying his head into her neck. Tears flooded faster down her cheeks, her heart squeezing them out. Slowly, her arms wrapped around Natsu gripping onto him with all her strength, her small face burying into his warm chest. Finally, she let it all out; the pain, the sadness and sorrow...everything. All she could do was hold Natsu. Hold him, and let all the tears in her heart fall.

For a long while, Lucy cried. Eventually, she calmed and began to fully recite everything in her dream, every detail.

"Natsu," Lucy whimpered softly, Natsu's arm sat gently around Lucy's shoulder, his warm protecting her against the winter's nipping cold. Dark eyes focused vaguely on the glowing city of Magnolia. Brown eyes wandered over the darkness, thinking of the bright orb in the sky.

"Yeah Luce?" Natsu replied, taking a deep, freezing breath in.

"Can we go somewhere?" Lucy asked calmly.

"Yeah, sure." Natsu replied, getting up slow enough for Lucy to move politely off him. "I'll go get Happ-"

"No." Lucy spoke sharply, letting it fade softly. Big brown eyes looked into his earnestly. Pink botches were fading around her eyes as the winter air worked to reduce the puffy inflammation. "Just you and me?" she asked. Onyx eyes stared at her for a long moment, scanning from her eyes to her chin. Natsu noticed Lucy's nose turning a little red at the cold like Rudolph the reindeer. That thought was a little amusing.

"Fine," Natsu agreed with a weak shake of his head. "Better wear this." he decided, pulling the white scaled scarf from around his broad shoulders. Silk fabric settled softly against her small neck, instantly bathing her in warmth. A scent of something burning dispersed to her nose. It was familiar and calming, like Natsu was right beside her. "There!" Natsu smiled with his goofy grin, his eyes showing the childish and simple-minded happiness that was Natsu. An unnoticed tensed knot inside her unraveled, letting relief flood through her. Natsu was strange that way. He always knew just how to reach her, even when she didn't know she needed saving.

"Thanks, Natsu!" She smiled a big goofy grin. There it was; that ease to smile around him.

It seemed that it wasn't only his smile that could relieve people. She didn't know how important and special her smile was. Especially to Natsu. They both were naive when it came to knowing how much they truly needed each other.

  


****


	8. Trap Door

Days past without a sound or hint from whomever the man was or what his intentions were.

Things on the other end were just a quiet. The guild had found barely anything. Leads turned up cold and there was no witness or files on the case. Also, without an identity on their attacker, there wasn't anyway to get the reports on the incident. There was also the fact that the government had destroyed and covered up the entire thing. The man was a ghost. Not only that, but their only lead, Issac Silver, the notorious Silver Fox and former associate of the man in black, known as Jaedou, had escaped from his top-security cell and gone missing.

During everything, Lucy began to recover small fractions of her memory. Sadly, all were insignificant and couldn't help in their search, leading them back to square one. "We're getting nowhere!" Gray growled, plucking his buttons on the white shirt he wore in frustration.

"And I really want to kick his ass!" Natsu sulked with his head laid on the table.

"Don't worry, Natsu. We'll get him!" Erza encouraged, putting a heavy gauntlet on his shoulder, grimacing at Natsu's distorted expression.

"Maybe it's a good thing we haven't found him. I bet he realised how strong Fairy Tail was and ran for the hills." Lucy joined in, half-enthusiastic, half-something else. The smile on her lip settled into a straight line as she turned away, looking out into the dark night of the wintery sky. Natsu and everyone quieted, watching her sorrowfully. Until Natsu decided to do a somersault on top of the table and pick a fight with Gray. Gray lunged for the dragon slayer and the two went rolling in a heap of flying fists and kicks. Lucy watched them with amusement.

"Lively as ever, eh?" Erza commented mildly.

"Yeah," Lucy laughed. "I'm glad."

"After all this, we need to go for a picnic." Erza suggested.

"Yeah. Let's invite the whole guild this time." Lucy added, looking around the homey building.

Make-shift bed's scattered around on floors, tables and benches for those who wanted to stay. Many of those who did stay, slept in the Fairy Tail dorm. Spare rooms were made for those who lived outside the guild. Mages made regular trips in and out the guild; tracing leads, following inquiries or helping out with the general chores of the guild. Everyone took turns going out and completing emergency and immediate jobs. Many other wizards from guilds of Fairy Tail's allies came to visit and help out. Lucy was pretty amazed by the entire work force they had accumulated, and it was all for her.

Lucy went along with Erza for a while, helping Mira deliver rounds of tea, coffee and food for the working guild mates. They mindlessly chatted about nice places to go when the weather turns warmer. Maybe the cliffs? It had a great view of the ocean. Though, Lucy would have to make sure none of them idiotically falls of the edge. Who knows? A strong current like Magnolia's sea could drag you off to some random island somewhere. She could bake a cake! It had been a while since she last made one. They endlessly chatted and worked until Levy came galloping over.

"Lucy!" She called in her sweet little voice, coming up beside her.

"Hey Levy, want some tea?" Lucy asked, holding the last cup.

"Ah, no thanks." Levy rejected kindly. A passing hand plucked it from Lucy's hand and floated away. Cana downed it like a shot, rushing through guild members and calling out raged insults. "Wow, Cana's been sober for a few days now. I didn't think she'd be doing so well." Levy commented, genuinely surprised. Lucy, a little shocked too, nodded in agreement. Levy scooted in the closest empty booth and cleared an area out of all the scattered paper, books and folders and boxes of information. Lucy slid in next to her and looked inquisitively at the book in front of her.

It was a small hard-back edition book with a wrinkled spine revealing its long years of age and wear. The pages were yellow and gave the musty kind of smell Lucy loved in old books. Apparently, if you sniff a lot of books like that you can get high, like you were on drugs. The white italic writing had faded into a dull, chipped and fading grey on the wrinkled pages, making the title illegible, except for the writing at the bottom. Lucy read, cleaning off dust remaining on the book. "Written by Zeron Amire. That name rings a bell." Lucy noticed.

"Zeron Amire wrote fictional stories based on non-fiction events happening during his time of work." Levy added.

"So, what's so special about this one?" Lucy asked giving it a dull, uninterested stare.

"As it so happens," Levy began, swiping the book into her arms, protecting it from Lucy's cold stare. The stellar mage gave her a soft roll of her eyes. "This book, was written about twenty years ago. If we believe Silver's story..." Levy drifted, setting the book down in front of them.

"Then it will contain clues during the time people went missing." Lucy finished her off. "But I thought the public didn't know about it."

"Those who knew Zeron claimed him to have been a _very_ resourceful man." Levy slightly purred.

"But the government hid everything." Lucy protested.

"The government didn't realize this book contains clues relating to the crime." Levy countered again, her voice showing her growing irritation.

"But they have to have read it, right?" Lucy argued again.

"They just don't know how to read between the lines like we do!" Levy announced proudly opening the cover.

"But-" Lucy whimpered.

"Lucy!" Levy snapped, turning on her quickly. Lucy flinched, shutting her mouth closed. Levy sighed. "It's okay, I know you're worried, but finding him is a good thing. You don't want to be running from him forever, do you?" Levy softly reassured the girl, squeezing her hands tightly around Lucy's. Relinquishing her fight, Lucy gave up and nodded. With that, Lucy was handed a pair of wind reader glasses and began to read.

A few moments later, Lucy slipped of the glasses, setting them softly on the table. Levy held the book and continued flicking through. Slowly, Lucy lifted her body up out the booth. Leather creaked under her tight grip and the table moaned. Levy stopped and looked up. "Lu? What is it?" Levy asked, setting down the book, staring at the back of her golden head.

"The monster that l- lurks." Lucy's voice faltered, her shoulder shaking. Quickly levy drove back to the little book, remembering where she had seen it. She found it; Page 132.

"The monster that lurks does not hide in solitude, but stalks in the dark. For where there is darkness, there is a-" Levy recited slowly.

Suddenly Lucy slumped to the floor. Her hands cradled her head, as her body shook. She managed to push herself up onto her hands and knees. White teeth gritted down, fighting the pain in her head. "Natsu!" Levy called frantically across the guild. Lucy's arms drained of energy and she buckled under her weight.

Strong arm caught her before she face planted the floor, dragging her into a warm embrace from behind. Natsu leaned back against the back of the booth, holding Lucy up against him.

Finally, Lucy's body caved and relaxed, sinking into Natsu's strong chest. Sweat trickled down her face and breaths became hard to grasp with her racing heart beat.

Mira fetched a mug of coffee with milk, cream and two sugars, crouching down besides the pair. Using his body as support, Natsu pushed Lucy up to sit, holding her steady with his arms. Mira put the mug and gave her little sips that she could manage. Wendy had figured out a recipe for a drink to boost Lucy's energy and mixed it with her mostly milk coffee. Normally she would pass out after her headaches, but this helped keep her conscious.

Headaches came often when Lucy remembered something about her past. Natsu, Mira and sometimes Wendy or others, would help Lucy during and after each one. In turn, she told them everything she could remember. Until the headache completely subsided, Lucy couldn't tell them anything.

Lucy began to regain her energy and Natsu helped her up to a table, settling her in beside Levy. A worst than normal headache still throbbed in her head and a wave of dizziness and nausea swept over her. No matter how much Mira persuaded Lucy to drink the water, she refused. Just looking at it made her stomach churn. Water helped with her headache but she couldn't relieve herself that way this time. Not feeling as sick as she did.

"Natsu." Lucy grumbled, burying her head in between her arms.

"Yeah, what is it, Luce?" Natsu asked, innocently eager to help.

"You're too hot!" She snapped, a foot sending him flying across the guild. Lucy moaned and sank back into her arms on the table.

Happy flew cautiously up to Natsu as he crumbled out of the man-shaped pit in the wall. "You okay, Natsu?" Happy whined.

"I forgot how strong sick-Lucy is." Natsu groaned from the heap of bruised limbs on the floor.

"That was stupid of you, Natsu." Happy bluntly stated, earning an irritated growl from the Natsu pile on the floor. "Need a hand?" Happy changed to sympathetic, reaching him a paw of aid.

"Aye..." Natsu grumbled.

Levy sat with Lucy until she felt better and managed to give her some water with pain-killing effects from Wendy. Sadly, the poor air dragon slayer couldn't do anything about Lucy's headache other than create the water. Poryluscia paid a visit to investigate Lucy's headache on request. Apparently it was psychological, not physical. It's Lucy's brain's reaction of shock from the suppression of the memories surfacing.

"You feeling any better, Lucy?" Wendy asked with concern.

"Good enough." Luce sighed, finishing the glass. Emptied to the bottom, Lucy set it down on the table with a silencing clink. Team Natsu, Levy, Mira and Makarov sat around the table. They became the team of relaying Lucy's memories. Levy insisted too many people would be too much pressure and shooed away the rest of the guild.

"I was in a cell with another girl. She was a friend I knew from my father's business. Lilianne Honda. I heard she had gone missing a few days ago before I was taken. We promised to stick together, that we'd make it through but-" The hint of hot tears began to well in her eyes as her voice faltered. "She died." Quiet gasps echoed from the parts of the guild as they stared in shock and disgust.

"That matches Silver's story. Lilianne must have died a few days before you were chosen." Erza interpreted softly, weary of how to put her words.

Natsu sat close by close by, not saying anything, just there. Makarov gave Lucy a small, grateful nod and regathered the guild members, going back to work. Mira set off to brew more tea with Levy's, along with Juvia's assistance. Team Natsu dispersed, leaving just Natsu and Lucy.

Tears still sat in the corner of her eyes with Lucy willing them not to fall. Natsu calmly waited next to her. Dark eyes staring calmly forward.

Spontaneously, Natsu grabbed Lucy's wrist yanking her suddenly out of the booth. His grip was gentle but forceful. "NATSU!" Lucy exclaimed in surprise. Natsu didn't hesitate and continued moving, ignoring her. The tenderness of his unmoving grip from his warm hands pulled her all the way through the guild doors.

In the guild, everyone stood still, watching the door's shut close. "Lucy?" Wendy whimpered curiously. A soft, pale hand laid gently on her shoulder. Small blue eyes looked up to the silver-haired mage behind her, smiling reassuringly.

"Don't worry, Natsu knows what he's doing." Mira said softly, handing her a hot chocolate with whip cream, chocolate shavings and miniature marshmallows. Wendy cupped her hands around it gratefully, bringing it to her face. Hot, moist steam brushed up over her chilly cheeks.

"That idiot may be pretty stupid, but, he knows Lucy best." Gray mumbled reluctantly.

"Gray..." Juvia whined girlishly. "It's secret boy love!" She squealed going into a world of her own.

"Oi! Don't go making things up on your own." Gray snapped, obviously embarrassed. But, he didn't take back what he said.

"Gray's right." Erza spoke proudly, looking at the shut doors with confidence. "Natsu can handle Lucy better than any of us."

"Natsu! Natsu!" Lucy whined as she stumbled after the pink-haired boy. Freezing winter winds skated over her skin, cutting goosebumps up her arms and legs. Where the hell was he dragging her? His wide shoulders moved swiftly under his vest, fluttering violently in the winds. Pink hair waved and shook, blown back by the breeze. Dark eyes hidden ahead of her. Did they look mad? She couldn't tell. He moved forward with long, wide strides. Lucy had to take two steps to his one. He was moving so fast, so fast that she couldn't catch up. "NATSU!" she snapped.

Natsu came to an abrupt stop with Lucy almost slamming into the back of him. His grip dropped her wrist, his hand falling to his side. Those wide shoulders didn't turn to face her. Dark eyes didn't turn to look at her. He just stood there. Tingling still vibrated around the skin on her arm, his warmth lingering from his touch. It was like a bracelet of smoothness compared to her goosebumps jacket.

Suddenly, he turned. Lucy jumped in surprise, dropping her wrist. Big arms folded over his chest, and a pout sat on his sulking face. Dark eyes traced the cracks in the pavement. "...You don't need to be strong _all_ the time." He grumbled refusing to meet her eyes.

Lucy let out a gentle laugh, moving forward. "Natsu, don't be silly." Her hand reach out to touch his warm, strong arms, wrapping like a protective shell against the cold. Lucy knew better than to think Natsu was ever cold. As her fingers went to touch him, he took a step backwards, avoiding her touch. Hurt slammed into her face, knocking her breath out of her.

Natsu's big arms tensed, wrapping tighter over his chest. Hands clutched the fabric of his vest into his fists, almost tearing through his clothes as he held as tightly as he could. All he wanted to do was giver her a hug. A simple hug. She was his _best_ friends! However, it was _because_ she was his best friend that he couldn't.

"Natsu?" She whimpered. Brown eyes fluttered all over his face, looking desperately for an explanation. A flicker of realization jumped across her expression. "Natsu, I- I need to be strong, because if I don't, I- I-" Lucy stumbled, words slipping uncontrollably from her mouth. Her body shook, not from the cold, but the emotions. Emotions she had suppressed for so long were bubbling over the edge. Pale hands wrapped around her arms anxiously.

Suddenly, her knees buckled, making her legs give way weakly underneath her. Natsu's body involuntarily leaped out to her, catching her safely in his arms.

Lucy twisted out of his grip quickly, pushing him back. Brown eyes fell to the floor, looking at it like reflective glass, as if she was looking right into herself. "I remember. I remember being that _weak, little girl_. I couldn't do anything while people died. While _she_ died! Do you know what that's like Natsu?" Lucy stopped, her body slowing and her voice softening. "No...You've always been strong. Not just physical strength." Cold, chocolate eyes made their way up to Natsu's blank, upset, shocked face. "I admired that. I wished that I had you back then. But, I didn't." Lucy's soft voice turned sharp, turning colder than the winter air. "She died right in front of me. They- they all...died." Finally, the painful, unwilling tears began to pour from her eyes, rolling down her cheeks. As they dropped onto her hands, Lucy looked at them with alienation.

Big arms quickly wrapped around her, dragging her in as close as he could. "You're strong, Lucy. So...It's okay to cry. It's okay." He whispered, burying his head into her neck. Tears flooded faster down her cheeks, her heart squeezing them out. Slowly, her arms wrapped around Natsu gripping onto him with all her strength, her small face burying into his warm chest. Finally, she let it all out; the pain, the sadness and sorrow...everything. All she could do was hold Natsu. Hold him, and let all the tears in her heart fall.

For a long while, Lucy cried. Eventually, she calmed and began to fully recite everything in her dream, every detail.

"Natsu," Lucy whimpered softly, Natsu's arm sat gently around Lucy's shoulder, his warm protecting her against the winter's nipping cold. Dark eyes focused vaguely on the glowing city of Magnolia. Brown eyes wandered over the darkness, thinking of the bright orb in the sky.

"Yeah Luce?" Natsu replied, taking a deep, freezing breath in.

"Can we go somewhere?" Lucy asked calmly.

"Yeah, sure." Natsu replied, getting up slow enough for Lucy to move politely off him. "I'll go get Happ-"

"No." Lucy spoke sharply, letting it fade softly. Big brown eyes looked into his earnestly. Pink botches were fading around her eyes as the winter air worked to reduce the puffy inflammation. "Just you and me?" she asked. Onyx eyes stared at her for a long moment, scanning from her eyes to her chin. Natsu noticed Lucy's nose turning a little red at the cold like Rudolph the reindeer. That thought was a little amusing.

"Fine," Natsu agreed with a weak shake of his head. "Better wear this." he decided, pulling the white scaled scarf from around his broad shoulders. Silk fabric settled softly against her small neck, instantly bathing her in warmth. A scent of something burning dispersed to her nose. It was familiar and calming, like Natsu was right beside her. "There!" Natsu smiled with his goofy grin, his eyes showing the childish and simple-minded happiness that was Natsu. An unnoticed tensed knot inside her unraveled, letting relief flood through her. Natsu was strange that way. He always knew just how to reach her, even when she didn't know she needed saving.

"Thanks, Natsu!" She smiled a big goofy grin. There it was; that ease to smile around him.

It seemed that it wasn't only his smile that could relieve people. She didn't know how important and special her smile was. Especially to Natsu. They both were naive when it came to knowing how much they truly needed each other.

  


 


	9. Jump

"Lucy~" Natsu moaned, following behind sluggishly. "We've been walking for _ages_!"

"Stop complaining, Natsu! We haven't walked _that_ far." Lucy grumbled, her attention focused elsewhere.

In truth, they had been walking a long time. Lucy lead the way, stopping quietly at every junction. At a seconds notice, she would randomly dart in one direction. It was like a wild goose chase, as far as Natsu was concerned. The poor dragon slayer was just able to keep up. It was difficult to follow her random movements.

It wasn't like he could loose her anyway. That scent of sweet strawberry and soothing vanilla was engraved in his mind. Even with the faintest scent, Natsu could pick it out of a thousand others.

Lucy refused to tell him where they were going. So, in order to keep an eye on her, he had to keep up.

"Lucy, where are we going?" Natsu moaned again, catching up to her at a T-junction. They were in front of a closed bakery. It's hanging sign moaned in the cold breeze, looking rather spooky with all it's lights out.

"You'll know when we get there!" Lucy growled impatiently, taking a second of her time to glare at him over her shoulder. Natsu's mouth snapped tightly into a pout as his big arms crossed over his chest. Lucy couldn't help but find it absoloutely adorable.

A wave of calm energy flooded her body, sooth the anxious nerves fluttering in her stomach. For a little while, she let her world slow, into the moment. With a gentle shake of her head, Lucy sighed and turned on her heals to face Natsu with a cool level stare. Small hands reach out confidently, placing themselves on his warm forearms. "Look, Natsu, I appreciate you coming with me and everything..." she began.

"Well, you need someone to protect you right?" The dragon slayer mumbled, a small pink blush creeping up on his cheeks.

"Yup." Lucy agreed, a smile lighting up on her lips.

"HEY! MOVE OUT THE WAY!" A voice bellowed, followed by the thundering rattle of wheels racing across cobblestone.

"WHOA!" Natsu gasped, quickly pushing his hand against the side street, pinning Lucy back with his free hand. Clattering wheels rocketed past, the carriage just missing them by a mere few inches. Rattling wood and harsh shouting faded as the carriage drove furiously down the street.

For a while, Natsu and Lucy stayed still, catching their breaths. Natsu finally let out a deep sigh, dragging his free hand down the length of his face. "That was close..." he breathed reluctantly.

"Natsu..." Lucy's voice rumbled beside him. Goosebumps prickled up his arm, freezing him from the inside out. A dark aura burned near him, radiating malice. Uh- Oh. Raven eyes daringly and dreadfully traced along his arm. He held it straight at shoulder length, reaching Lucy easily. His hand spread out, pinning her against the wall. That wasn't the problem. The issue lied with his hand. It was on her chest. Natsu's whole body froze in surprise, dark eyes staring at his hand in disbelief. His throat scratched together like sand paper as he tried to swallow the dread in his throat.

Since he saw it coming, he thought it wouldn't hurt as much. Physics didn't work that way. Natsu managed to peel himself from the man-shaped dint in the brick wall. "Sorry Luce!" Natsu sheepishly apologized, feeling oddly 2-D.

Lucy huffed a reply, turning her back and sticking out her chin. Brown orbs moved on to search about the street. The next turn was unknown to her. It seemed her fragmented memory stopped at the junction. But where next? An old butcher's, bakery and abandoned smith were her only clues.

Brown eyes watched the creaking sign baring a black anvil, swing with a rusting creak. Metal jangled in the wind of an open window. The smithy seemed old, untouched and out of work. There was no 'For-Sale' sign, so Lucy assumed it was an owned and neglected property. Eyes found themselves peering into the building. She hadn't really noticed it there before. She had lived in Magnolia long enough to know the area. A strange pressure on her eyes tried to make them look away. Lucy ignore it and swept closer to the door. The strain began to prickle at her body, like she was trying to push through some kind of malleable and thick skinned bubble.

Natsu scrambled up behind her, rubbing his sore cheek that glowed with a red food-mark. "Luce, what are you-"

"Shush!" Lucy hushed him, pressing a finger to his lips. she slipped her hand around the iron door handle. She tried it, leaning her weight quietly against the door. It let out a creak in protest and refused to budge. Lucy tried two more times but still couldn't move it.

"Damn." Lucy growled. "Looks like we need the key."

"Breaking and entering, huh?" A familiar voice grumbled behind them. Stiff ice jittered up the pair's spine, freezing them in shock. Slowly, their heads creaked around. Stood behind them, was no one other than a black-haired, half-naked, ice mage with his hands on his hips. A smug smile pulled his lips from one ear to the other; Proud for catching the pair red-handed.

"Busted." Natsu grumbled, giving a gruff sigh.

"You're a terrible look out, Natsu!" Lucy grumbled.

"Hey!" Natsu snapped. Gray shook his head at the pair, pushing passed the squabbling couple and examining the locked door.

"Ice make..." Gray whispered, pushing a fist into his palm.

"Natsu!" Lucy whined in frustration.

"Lucy!" Natsu mimicked.

"Don't copy me!" Lucy snapped.

"Well, It's your fault we got caught!" Natsu retorted.

"What?" Lucy exclaimed in disbelief. " _You_ were the poor look out!"

"Lucy!" Natsu growled.

"Natsu!" Lucy copied.

"Don't cop-" Natsu rebuted.

A loud, ancient creak cut through their bickering with a grimacing screech. Both pairs of eyes darted back to Gray. The ice mage stood next to the doorway, assessing it with satisfaction. "You needed a key right?" Gray spoke, turning to face the astonished pair. An obnoxious grin stretched his face as he spun the ice sculpture on his finer. A key of ice, that coincidentally happened to fit the lock.

Lucy gave him a sly smile, shaking her head. Natsu dropped his jaw, scowling at Gray.

"I could have done that too." Natsu mumbled, pushing past him.

"In your dreams, matchstick." Gray retorted.

"Oh yeah, twinkle toes, want me to melt that little key of yours?" Natsu growled, stepping up to the challenge.

Lucy watch them with pity. A small chuckle escape her lips, sliding past the squabbling boys. Lucy left them going at each other in the doorway and moved into the darkened room.

A cold draft rattled a collection of steel tools hanging off hooks in the ceiling. Grey coal stones sagged and crumbled throat the rusted black pit. The dark outlines of large rusted anvils were barely visible. Wooden panels on the ceiling matched the floors, standing sturdy, collecting dust and housing a collection of cobwebs.

"Wow." Lucy whispered, finding herself strangely marveled at it's unique aging. It felt like it had so much character. Lucy could smell the combustion and steel that must have lingered from its days of use. Even so, Lucy felt something was odd about the place. At first, she could only conjure up one word- Fake.

"This place is creepy..." Natsu muttered, looking up at the empty ceiling.

"I don't like this place either." Gray agreed. For a second, they both were calm. One second later, and their eyes snapped into a glaring match. Lucy sighed, she had given up hope for the two of them long ago.

Moving around them, Lucy shuffled her way passed the metal instruments, racked up against the wall and took a look at the back. Plain iron horse shoes hung on hooks on the wall, all different sizes, shapes and widths. "How strange..." Lucy mumbled, picking up an iron horse shoe from the wall. Natsu and Gray's chattering faded into the background; something about how it was a good idea they didn't bring Gajeel.

Hands flipped the metal over and over in her hands like dough. Lucy picked up another shoe of the wall, weighing them in either of her hands she was a balancing scale. Then she put down the second shoe examining the first again.

It looked like the standard shoe but, it felt a little lighter than the rest, not to mention it was rounder, which seemed like it should be significant somehow.

"Hey, look at this." Gray's voice called across the room, breaking her train of thought.

The other two mages circled up to the ice mage, crouched low to the floor. Dark eyes studied the foot of a heavy-looking anvil in the near-center of the room.

"What is it?" Lucy asked, tracing Gray's gaze. "A hand print?" There was a four-fingered hand shape leaving a fresh print on the thick layer of dust covering the edges of the anvils.

"Look." Gray commanded, swiping a handful of dust of the anvil.

"The hand print!" Lucy exclaimed in slight horror as Gray distorted its shape.

"Just look." Gray replied. Brown orbs traced his eyes. Dust clumps gently floated to the floor like little clouds, sinking low in the musty air.

Suddenly, the little cloud got swept into a current and dragged fast down. A wind flow made them disappear through a gap in the panel of the floor. Gone.

"A draft?" Lucy muttered. To Natsu's surprise, her body collapsed against the wood, her cheek laying against the crack.

"Luce!" Natsu gasped.

"Shush!" Lucy hushed him sharply. Natsu sighed in relief; That surprised him. "Gray, you're right!" Lucy spontaneously exclaimed, launching back up to sit. "Quick, move that anvil!" She commanded, pushing Natsu forward.

"Why is it I'm only useful to you when its for physical labor!" Natsu grumbled, glimpsing Lucy a scowl. Lucy ignored him. It took both Natsu and Gray to shift the weight of the heavy lump of iron from its place.

As soon as it was out the way, Lucy dived straight in. It was unnoticeable to a unaware eye, but there were gaps, a little larger than the gaps in the wooden slacks, marking out a square shape in the floor.

"It's a trap door." Gray evaluated, crouching down next to Lucy. A hand raked back through his messy black hair as he studied the carved shape. "What's that?"

An oval shape indented the wooden floor. "Look's like a key shape, a lock maybe?" Lucy theorized.

"Right..." Natsu mumbled ,stroking his chin thoughtfully. Dark eyes glimpsed around the room. Finally, he sighed and turned back to the other two. "Let's break it open." Natsu declared, igniting his fist with destructive power.

Water gushed over his head, drowning his entire body from head to toe. Smoke hissed from his fist as his flame died pathetically. Natsu's body froze for a long moment of delayed shock. "LUCY!" he snapped, turning quickly on his heels. "Huh? Happy?" Natsu exclaimed. An empty bucket sat in the palms of the floating blue fur ball with ice-white wings.

"Aye sir!" Happy cheerfully smiled. "Sorry about that Natsu, it wasn't my idea." The kitten's expression turned sympathetic.

"This whole place is lined with _gun powder_ , Natsu!" A voice grumbled behind him. In one second flat, a heavy metal gauntlet crashed against his head.

"Erza!" Lucy exclaimed. The towering, armored, red-head towered over the pink haired boy with a scowl. Slowly, the dark freezing glare set on the other two. Lucy heard Gray gulp behind her, feeling every muscle in his body tense.

"You two _disappeared_! Lucy we can't protect you when you go off like this!" Erza scolded, her fury set on the blonde.

"Urgh...so...sorry...Erza." Lucy apologized, her gaze incapable of rising past her feet.

"And _you_." Erza twisted her glare onto the ice mage. " _You_ were sent to find the two of them and never came back!" The blazing reequip mage growled.

As Erza continued to rant at Gray and Natsu, both laid crippled in pain on the floor, Lucy's attention slipped back to the mysterious key hole. Fingers traced the circle in the ground. The ridged feel of the bottom of the shape bubbled against her fingers. Lucy's consciousness fell back into a simple world of thought. She found the odd horseshoe she picked up earlier, folding over and over in her palms. She ought to put it back. After contemplating it, Lucy gave up and stood to take it back.

A loose nail caught her foot as she rose sending her staggering reached out to catch the nearest table, letting the horseshoe fly free from her hands. Somehow, she managed to stabilize herself, just as the horse shoe landed with a ringing clatter against the floor. Lucy recovered and quickly moved to retrieve it.

It rolled and came to a rattling stop above the trapped lock door, half tipping into the circle hole.

Lucy weaved around Erza and Gray, still in the middle of a lecture, and crouched down beside it. Lucy's hand reached to pick it up, but came to an abrupt stop.

The horseshoe?...It was lighter than the others, Lucy thought, remembering weighing it on her palm. It was also shaped a little differently. Lucy gasped in realization as the thought crashed into her mind. The shape of the horseshoe; it was rounder!

Natsu perked up, dark eyes flickering back to the door. Lucy was crouched onto the wood, fiddling frivolously with the handle. Brown eyes were gleaming with excitement. "Luce?" Natsu muttered, rubbing his sore head. The dragon slayer got to his feet and moved towards her and asked "Whatcha' doin'?"

Lucy's eyes flickered up, taking him all in, in one moment. Staring at him with such overwhelming emotion made his face burn a crimson red. When they moved away, Natsu felt a strange sense of relief. Sometimes Lucy could be really intense. It wasn't until after her eyes released him that he realized how his heart was frantically beating inside his chest. It was probably left over fright from Erza.

"I figured it out. I've got the key!" Lucy exclaimed. In her hand, she held a small, circular horseshoe. "Lucy that won't fit-" Happy popped up beside them. Apparently, he was wrong; It did fit. Perfectly actually. It filled half the lock, sitting snugly into the oval shape.

By now, Erza had stopped shouting and moved back to Lucy, followed by a sullen Gray. Lucy's finger pushed against the iron metal shoes. It began to move smoothly against the wood, rotating smoothly around the circle. It moved painstakingly slow, building tension in the atmosphere every second. Finally, it completed one full turn.

Suddenly, a loud gasp of air whistled out the cracks of the door. A screeching clang rattled the air, flying the door open with a bang. Lucy squealed in surprise, almost being crushed by the swinging door. Natsu managed to drag her out the way just in time.

"That was close..." Lucy wheezed weekly, collapsing against Natsu's arm.

"Yup." Natsu panted next to her, looking at the door inches from his toes. "Too close..."

"I don't think I wanna go down there." Happy whined, peering into the open trap door.

Darkness echoed into the chilling pit. Cold, whistling fog poured up of the edge like a cauldron. Silence.

"Maybe we should just go back..." Happy whined, tugging Natsu's scarf pleadingly. Onyx eyes jumped to Happy, to Lucy, to the gap and back to Lucy, and returned to the chamber again. Sandals picked himself up, moving over to the dark hole in the middle of the smithy.

For a painstaking long moment, Natsu stood looking deeply into the hole, his eyebrows knitted together in consideration. And then...

He jumped.

  


 


	10. Caged Part 1

Everyone exclaimed in shock as the slayer was swallowed up into the darkness. Their surprise was shattered by the loud crashing and yelps from the hole. Before she knew it, Lucy was plundering forward towards the hole. She didn't even have time to make a decision as her feet rushed in, plunging her into the dark.

"Natsu?" Lucy called. She was surprised to find solid, stone beneath her feet, a few feet down from the gap. She walked along it, hearing her footsteps smothered by a heavy silence. A sandal took a step forward, only to find, that her stone path had come to an end. She startled in surprise as there was no more ground underneath her. Lucy's squeal cut off sharply as her legs jerked at the stone meeting her foot. Her body still moved forward with the moment, hitting hard against stone that slowly descended down. Stairs? Lucy didn't have time to contemplate it as she raced down the steps, practically flying over them.

Suddenly, the rock turned soft under foot, radiating a familiar warmth. A groan echoed hauntingly beneath her. Lucy screamed in fright and went tumbling forwards. Her beautiful, youthful skin met a face full of concrete.

"Urgh." Lucy grumbled, sitting up sorely.

"LUCY!" Voices screamed from above. It was dark, darker than Lucy imagined. Light from the streets that lit the dark smithy were engulfed in black. There was no light to guide her.

Realization hit her like a slap in the face. She remembered why she leapt blindly into the hole in first place. "NATSU!" Lucy called. It went quiet for a long moment until Lucy heard a loud grumble at her feet. "NATSU!" Lucy exclaimed, shuffling forward. Grit, cold wet and painful dug into the skin of her knees as she crawled across it's rubble stone floor.

Warmth caught her by the ankle and ripped her backwards. It's burning heat wrapped around her shoulder. In blind panic, Lucy threw her foot forwards. Something soft with an underlying strength met it and was knocked backwards.

Lucy froze, her eyes adjusted, making out the faint shape of the figure on the floor. It was familiar. Her foot had felt that face many times before. "Natsu?" Lucy whispered. "Natsu!"

"Aye..." Natsu's voice groaned.

Hesitantly, Lucy reached out in to the darkness. When she felt his strong, warm build on her palms, she let out a small, involuntary squeak, pulling her hands back. "Natsu?...Are you okay?" Lucy whispered.

"I've had better days." Natsu replied, his hands reaching blindly into the darkness until he found Lucy's. Strong hands slip over hers, lacing around her wrists. "Found you!" Lucy squealed against as she was dragged into Natsu's arms, wrapping around her back.

"Natsu what are you-" Lucy squawked.

"Shush." Natsu whispered. Soft lips shut tight with a pout. Brown eyes scowled in the dark at the dragon slayer. "Wow. You actually listened to me." Natsu's voice chuckled, sounding genuine surprise.

"WHAT?" Lucy exclaimed, breaking free of his arms. "Urgh. If I could see, I would slap you so hard right now!"

"Aha, Sorry Luce." Natsu laughed, acting a little amused and a little distracted. Goosebumps prickled up his warmly tanned arms. It was the murderous energy, Natsu could feel practically pouring out of the girl. "Uh-huh...Lucy?"

" _Natsu_!" Lucy growled. An overwhelming urge to duck pushed his body back against the ground. It was just in time. The breath of air that whipped his face just missed. Not at all too soon later, the crack of a leather whip echoed in the darkness. " _Natsu..._ " Lucy growled again.

"Ah, Luce!" Natsu gulped. "I- I was kidding..." Open palms raised in the air in surrender. Thunderous whip-cracking continued as Lucy obviously wasn't feeling merciful.

Gray, Erza and Happy slowly moved down the steps, weary of their footing and balance. "Natsu! Lucy!" Happy yelled. Blue paws clung to the steel edges of Erza's shoulder plates as a guide through the darkness. "Where are they?" Happy sheepishly mumbled.

"Dunno." Gray bluntly replied, somewhere behind them. "Natsu, the idiot, just carelessly jumped in and obviously fell down the stairs. Then Lucy went running down after him. I think from the screams we heard, she found him." Gray ranted angrily, throwing around stiff hand gestures. "Jeez. Those two..."

"But...but what if someone caught them?" Happy wailed. "Hey, Erza, Erza, what if Lucy and Natsu have been ambushed. I heard yelling earlier."

"The lock on the trap door was rusted. it doesn't look like it's been used in a while" Erza replied rather smoothly.

"That doesn't answer my question!" Happy cried. A large grunt growled behind them as Gray charged passed Erza on the narrow stairs, marching straight down, stomping his feet as he went.

"Lucy, I'm sorry, okay? I'm sorry!" Natsu's voice panicked.

"Natsu?" Erza called out.

"Huh? Erza?" Natsu replied distantly. Faint muttering followed, getting louder and louder the closer they descended.

"NATSU!" Lucy's voice snapped. She sounded furious.

"Lucy! Shush!" Natsu hushed her in frustration.

"Don't shush me! Natsu get-" Lucy bickered, followed by a loud muffled noise.

"Natsu?" Gray called out again, only a little further ahead than Happy and Erza.

"Here!" Natsu called. A whistling hiss escaped into the air. Orange glowing light beamed like a torch in the constricting darkness. Natsu's fist flickered like a candle, lighting the narrow tunnel walls with an illuminating amber. Black stone walls were covered in dying, brown moss, leaking tears of water, or so it seemed, across its damp stone.

The tunnels were, as said, surprisingly narrow. Both side walls could be reached with extended arms. Contradictory to the width of the walls, was the height of the ceiling. It reached to about four times the height of Natsu and Gray like the roof of a church.

"Natsu! What are you doing?" Erza exclaimed. Natsu's strong, muscular body crouched over the body of the struggling blonde, pinning her down. Lucy squeaked and squawked, trying to claw the dragon slayer's hand off her mouth while he straddled her waist.

"Eh?" Natsu questioned, pink eyebrows knitting together in confusion. Dark eyes stared at Erza for a long time. They turned to carefully study himself, Lucy, and their situation. As he turned back to Erza, a hot pink blush was heating up on his cheeks as it dawned on him. "Erm...It's not what it looks like, Erza." Natsu gulped, laughing nervously. "I swear!"

Metal mercilessly collided against his face. Natsu's body was sent flying backwards into the nearest stone wall with shocking force. Darkness quickly swallowed up the remained glow of the flame. A small 'WHOOMPH' sound echoed as Natsu's body trickled down into a heap of aching skin and bones.

Lucy took a large, deep gasp, picking herself up off the floor. Erza reached out a gauntlet to help her and she took it gratefully.

"Oi, get up!" Gray grumbled. It was hard to see but Gray could just make out the outline of the pink hair spiking in random directions.

"You wanna go, ice princess?" Natsu's body whirled around, instantly stepping up the ice wizard. Apparently Erza's punch wasn't hard enough.

"Are you fighting...AGAIN?" Erza's voice growled threateningly. The temperature seemed to drop a little more. Natsu's throat tightened as he tried to gulp back his fear.

"Aha, sorry Erza." Natsu replied innocently.

"Natsu, do something about this light." Erza commanded. That was right. They were still puzzled with the problem of light. Lucy's brown eyes had somewhat adjusted to the darkness easier than she had planned. Faint outline of people and walls could be seen as dark shades, separated from blackness. The blurred shape of the walls seemed a harsh sheen of grey. It was strange, the walls of all things, seemed oddly familiar. Before Lucy could continue to probably over think, a sizzle snapped her from her thoughts.

Golden flames lit up around Natsu's fist. Illuminating light poured out over the walls and burnt away their familiarity. Maybe she was just seeing things.

The walls looked old and dreary, leaning in a curve over their head. Wet drops of foul-smelling water dripped down the collar of her shirt, sending an icy vibration through her bones. Moss squeezed and cosied its way into the crumbling concrete in between the large mismatched stone bricking around them. Stone-covered steps lead up to the little trap door at a dangerously steep incline. It looked monstrously high and small, looking up at it. Lucy wondered how far she'd fallen before she hit the stairs and stripped over Natsu. It looks like she must have missed at least ten. The pink-haired devil seemed to be thinking the same thing. Onyx eyes, glittering a golden-tar under torch light, gazed thoughtfully up at the trap door. "It's pretty high, isn't it?" Lucy moved next to him, following his line of sight. "We must be deep underground."

"Yeah, I suppose." Natsu half-heartedly replied. His absent-minded attention followed as he called over the blue feline. His gaze stayed rooted at the square patch of dim light in the ceiling as the flying cat sprung up beside him, following his gaze up.

"Yeah, Natsu?" Happy asked, looking back between the gap and Natsu, trying to make some kind of connection.

"Isn't this normally the part where the trap door shuts behind us?" Natsu asked. Happy let out a squeal of surprise and fear.

"This isn't like some horror movie, you two." Lucy moaned.

"Only idiots would-" Gray began. A loud bang cut him off. All eyes jumped instantly back up to where the trap door should have been. Darkness had swallowed the patch of light which was the door. Lucy shrieked darting back up the stairs in panic. Her feet hit the steps at a sprint, shooting her upwards.

"Lucy, you shouldn't-" Happy tried to warn her, but gave up as she reached halfway.

A rumble growled from under her feet as the hard stone steps suddenly smoothed out under her feet. The ground evened-out into a damp, slippery slope. One she couldn't possibly climb. Lucy screamed as she went tumbling backwards, rolling rapidly down. Lucy reacted quickly, catching a key from her belt as she continued to fall, whirling it in the air above her head. "Gate...of...the...ram...I...open...thee!" Lucy stumbled, letting light shimmer at the end of the golden key. "Aries!"

Gold dust sprinkled the air, collecting into form. It merged into Aries, dressed in her pink and white wool, seconds before Lucy landed.

Soft, fluffy cotton clouds surrounded her like a comforting blanket, breaking her fall. A sigh of relief sailed out of her lips as she landed safely.

"Nice timing, fluffy" Happy winked, giving a thumbs up to the shaking lamb.

"I'm sorry." Aries whimpered.

"It's okay, thanks Aries." Lucy gave her a grateful nod, standing up on her faintly weak legs.

"I'm sorry." She whined again, disintegrating into golden particles that faded into the air.

"You alright Luce?" Natsu chuckled with half concern.

"Yeah, fine." she grumbled bitterly. She was more irritated at the stairs than him. "The stairs suddenly flattened."

"It's just like a horror movie!" Happy exclaimed with gruesome delight in a tangle of fear. Natsu laughed at the cat, showing a similar twinkle in his eye. The laughter died as his face went from the feline to Lucy's.

Brown eyes glanced around nervously, sizing up every brick and slab of concrete that could possible come alive and try to hurt her. A warm hand set on Lucy's stiff shoulders, making her flinch. A small, far-away pang echoed distantly in the dragon slayer's heart, like a pin prick to the chest. It distracted him a little, making him awkwardly pause with Lucy's big brown eyes staring up at him curiously.

"Don't worry, Luce. There's nothing to be afraid of." Natsu tried cheering her up, beaming with his full-of-confidence smile.

Just as a little tension ceased from her muscles, a cold blast of air raced through the tunnels. Natsu's flame jumped, flickered and died with a whistle. Quickly, Natsu re-lit it, lighting everything up again. Tension coiled up again in Lucy's jaw, her anxious eyes set on him. Natsu gave a sheepish grin, chuckling nervously.

"Let's go!" Erza's voice instructed. Erza stood at the edge of the light beginning to creep into the darkness. Lucy didn't say anything. She just listened and walked closer to the equip mage. _'Well that went well_ ' Natsu thought bitterly, ' _Nice job reassuring her, Natsu!_ '

Natsu sulked behind Lucy, keeping up pace so that light still shone like a little orb around them.

After a short while of walking down the corridor, Lucy wandered closer to the dragon slayer, keeping a cautious eye on the flame gloved around his fingers. Although it danced gracefully, it would be dangerous if she got too close. Natsu, Lucy thought sadly, could be like that. The pink-haired boy's brilliance was the same as his flames. They were strong and powerful, destructive and unpredictable, but also graceful and kind. They could protect what they loved and burn anything that would threaten that. What would happen if the thing that threatened him, was something he loved?

"There's something up ahead!" Erza called distantly, as if she were a few feet way. In fact, she was stood only a couple of metes in front of the blond. It seemed it was Lucy who was far way, lost in deep thought in her echoing heart. Lucy left her numbing thoughts for later, catching up to the scarlet-haired mage. Erza had already quickened her pace. Lucy had to double hers to keep up.

"What is this place?" Gray grumbled. Black iron bars began to protrude out of the wall. Stone cave-like cells swallowed in darkness lurked on the other side. They were small, no windows or doors. Gray wondered how they even opened them. At the corner, Gray spotted his answer. A small, two-squared foot, dog gate built into the edges of the bars. You'd have to crawl to get through. Low, claw marks scratched into the concrete, shimmering in the light, a silvery-grey.

"That must be how they forced people in and out of the cells." Erza added, looking at the gate coldly. Dark eyes caught the shallow marks and she hesitated. A small unnecessary breath escaped her lips, as she stood and gazed ahead into the darkness. Gray wondered if it brought up any unwanted memories of her childhood in the tower of heaven. He stopped, realizing it was not the time for the ice mage to be picking at Erza's thoughts. Gray stood up from his crouch by the door and moved over to the reequip mage. Natsu took a quick glance at the gate and so did Happy. Lucy didn't even turn. She carried on, head straight as if she knew what was there and didn't dare look. They all moved on after her.

They passed cave after cave, each with their own set of iron bars. Rust had began to spiderweb itself around the edges, crisping black into brown. _Lucy might have stayed in one of those cells_ , Natsu thought, _she could have lived in that darkness_. The thought made him shudder. Raven eyes found themselves drawn to the plain, stiff face of the celestial mage. Brown eyes pointed straight into the darkness ahead like there was nowhere else to look. h

"This is getting pretty creepy now." Happy whined, hovering close to Natsu's side. Natsu nodded shortly, glancing around the empty cages.

The rows and rows of cells came to a stop. Dark stone walls washed up again in the darkness. "This one's open." Erza stated, swinging open the normal-sized gate. It let out a horrible creak as it swung open. Natsu felt Lucy's body completely stiffen. Jet eyes jumped towards her. Brown eyes were fixed on the open door, staring with a boiling intensity that could probably burn holes right through it. "Luce? You alright?" Natsu called, waving a hand in front of her face.

Lucy snapped back into reality. The horrible screech of the gate had frozen her body and paused her mind, letting the sound drag infinitely in her head. The sound seemed to vibrate through her bones like the chime of a clock tower.

Somewhere in the far away world, Natsu's voice called to her. Lucy found herself blundering back into life. Big onyx eyes stared at her inquisitively. She could see him balanced between concern and curiosity, unsure of which way to turn. Before he decided either, Lucy gave him a reassuring smile, settling his temped concern. The smile seemed genuine enough, but her heart wasn't in it. Natsu seemed to have noticed it too, but he decided to play along. It was more than comforting to the celestial mage. It was so strange how Natsu always understood her on some deeper level. Then again, there were days she doubted that. Like the day she needed to go shopping and Natsu and Happy complained all day until she took them home. He was the one who wanted to come along. _Really, they were just like a bunch of kids_ , Lucy thought. A gentle chuckle slipped from her lips when she realized how mildly amusing it was. Dark eyes caught it and his lips pulled into a smile, relieving him of a little bit of tension twisted up in his muscles.

"What's so funny?" Natsu asked, nudging her gently in the arm. Lucy just shook her head softly. Big brown eyes turned to him and stared. For a long moment, her orbs held his, igniting the pulse of electricity that shot through his veins. It wasn't that he felt uncomfortable, but something just wanted more. It wanted to be be closer to her, like an invisable rope pulling them together.

Before Natsu even finished contemplating the unfamiliar feelings, Lucy smiled and said "Nothing." turning back to Erza. Natsu shook off the remaining pins and needles sensation prickling in his hands, legs and chest, moving up to join them.

"This cell's different from the rest." Erza grumbled thoughtfully, looking in the dimly lit room. Natsu moved in with his flaming fists, brightening up the , _'Brightening up the place'_ wasn't the right phrase.

Dreary, empty walls glittered with a cold, slimy membrane. Chains attatched a small bed to the back wall. A metal toilet and sink fixed on the edge, discolored with limescale and rust. White sheets layed neatly on a thin, spongey materess with soft, fluffy pillows. It looked, in Erza's opinion, strangely nice for a cell. It was especially true when comparing it to the cells they already passed. The others were barren and small, this one was a little bigger with a few extra essentials.

"It looks, in compariosn to the others, better." Gray stated, taking the words right out of the equip mage's mind. His voice sounded twisted and unsure, unable to find the right words he needed.

"I wouldn't say better." Natsu grumbled, scrunching up his sensitive nose.

"The whole place isn't very nice at all." Happy added unnecessarily.

"This kind of cell is better than the other ones they have." Erza gestured back down the corridoor. "It must have held someone of higher.. _.quality._ " Erza grimaced, finding difficulty in expressing her words too. In fact, she couldn't find any words to pin point exactly what she was trying to say.

"I don't think you can describe a person in terms of quality." Gray muttered sourly, examining the space between the bed and the cell bars.

"Kidnappers probably don't care." Erza bluntly remarked, shading her eyes away behind a veil of red. Cells of the such, brought up too many unwanted memories.

"Who then, would be more important than the rest?" Happy asked aloud, hiding somewhere near Natsu's shoulders.

"Me." Lucy said.


	11. Caged Part 2

"It was mine." Lucy spoke for the first time. She hadn't really said anything until then, stepping out into a patch of golden light near a wall. Everyone turned to face her. "Well, I think it was." Lucy added after a thought. Surprise rested subtly on her face, as if she hadn't meant to say anything at all. It died a moment later. Instead, her eye brows knitted together with a strained expression, as if she was trying to remember something she'd forgotten. Maybe she was.

Moonlight streamed in through the small barred window high up the wall near the ceiling. It's cold, soft light ran over her palms. The flickering images of her nightmare crossed her eyes in a blur. Lucy let out a shocked gasp, staggering back a step away from the door. "Luce, you alright?" Natsu whirled up beside her. His glowing fist pushed back behind him as he straightened his arm to keep the fire a safe distance away from her.

"Yeah...fine." Lucy dismissed him with a flick of her hand. A small shimmer of irritation and hurt leapt over his expression but lost against his concern. "Just thought I saw something." Lucy tried to ignore his eyes burning into her. Brown eyes turned towards Erza for relief. Still, the red-headed picked the obvious question.

"Why do you think this cell was yours?" She asked. Either way, Lucy wasn't escaping from that one. Lucy let out a last frustrated growl, dropping her head into her palms. Her fingers raked through her hair with irritation.

"I don't know." Lucy whined. "It just look familiar, like I saw it in a dream somewhere." Lucy sighed and dropped her hands. She looked up to the sympathetic stares around her, ignoring the dull throbbing at the back of her skull.

"That dream could have been a recalled fragment of your memory." Erza said.

"Probably." Lucy grumbled tiresomely, as she lent back against the wall behind her. Something dug into her back, pressing uncomfortably between her shoulder blades. "What the-" Lucy growled, turning to investigate. A black iron ring protruded from the wall. Brown eyes glared at it curiously. A chain of matching metal links clung onto it. Her eyes traced down its tail, following it across the floor like a slithering snake.

A sharp gasp caught on the lump of her throat as Lucy tumbled backwards.

"Lucy!" Natsu exclaimed in shock, catching her as she fell. Light was swallowed by the darkness as the flame distinguished. "Lucy are you-" Natsu tried but cut himself short at the small, snuffed whimper squeezing out of the girl's mouth.

Suddenly, she shoved him back, clawing frantically at her arms and legs.

"Natsu? Lucy? Where are you?" Gray called out, moving wearily in the darkness. Light blazed once again in the corner of the room like a beacon. It dimmed as Gray and Erza came running over. Lucy scratched and shoved at her flapping wrists and ankles. Blind terror completely overtook her face. She pushed as far back against the wall as she could, desperately trying to get away from whatever was on her. "Natsu, what's up with her?" Gray asked cautiously, sinking down to a crouch beside the distraught Natsu.

"I- I don't...know." Natsu stuttered, his voice growing frail and cold.

"Lucy, calm down!" Happy tried, fright shaking his words.

"It won't work." Erza interjected. "It seems she's trapped in a half-dream-like state. I think she's hallucinating."

"That's more like a nightmare, if you ask me." A voice echoed behind them. Everyone whirled on their heels, staring into the black abyss besides the open, metal gate. A shady figure hid just out of reach of the light.

"Who are you?" Gray snapped, his hands rubbing anxiously against each other.

"Don't recognize me, boy?" The voice whispered teasingly. A gasp escaped Gray's lips in surprise. It quickly twisted into a threatening growl as he began to realize.

"Silver." Gray hissed. The figure moved forward, stepping slowly out of the shadows. Long, black legs stretched up to a tight white shirt over a broad, muscled chest. Long, grey hair spilled down loosely around his sharp features. Pale skin and dark ashen eyes like muddy snow.

"So you do remember. I'm glad." His cold eyes moved carefully over each of them. As they moved over Natsu, they seemed to hesitate for just a second longer. Then they seemed to skip straight to Lucy. Then back, and forth again, jumping between the pair. When he stopped, a small smile began to creep up the edges of his lips. "I see a familiar face. Who might you be again?" His gaze directed at the dragon slayer.

"None of your goddamn business." Natsu barked, not holding back on expressing his resentment to the man.

"You shouldn't say the lord's name in vain, Dragneel." Silver purred. "You barged in on my kidnapping attempt. Gotta return the favor."

"I never gave you a favor in the first place, you-" Natsu growled. Lucy squirmed behind him, instinctively catching his whole attention. A thought registered on his face as his eyes flashed back to Silver stood in front of him. A strong, muscled arm stuck out protectively over Lucy. Onyx eyes snapped onto Issac, fastening his gaze with powerful intensity.

Erza couldn't be sure, but it look like the fox may have flinched, just a little. Issac shrugged it off. "Your girl, she's had a hell of a bad time down in these cells." His voice sounded odd, almost purposefully detached as his eyes flickered to the blonde behind him.

"We know." Happy quickly bit back. All the fur on the back of his neck stood up with anxiety.

"Not quite, exceed." Issac retorted, then quickly dropped the matter. Issac's hand moved so fast they couldn't even see it coming. One second in was stuffed casually in his pocket, then next thing they knew, he was armed. In his hand, he held a long silver hand gun. It was pointing directly at Lucy. Natsu couldn't move quick enough to respond as the hammer clicked against the back of the gun. Its silenced bang froze Natsu in his steps.

Time caught up with him and the dragon slayer was already moving to her side before he realized it himself. A red-tailed dart stuck out the side of Lucy's neck, a red- blue liquid quickly draining out of it. Natsu wasted no time in plucking it out, sending it flying across the room. It hit the far wall and shattered into a thousand pieces of glass.

"Lucy!" The group shouted, quickly surrounding her.

"Lucy?...Luce?" Natsu called. His hands placed on her cheeks, turning her to face him. Lucy's head rolled forward into his palms as her body collapsed against him. "Luce!" Natsu exclaimed.

"What did you do?" Erza roared. Black armor coated her in head to toe as she unsheathed a lethal black blade.

Lucy's body rolled off Natsu's shoulder, slipping towards the floor. The dragon slayer quickly caught her, pulling her into his arms. Light once again dispersed as Natsu moved his hands. Darkness swallowed up visibility.

Erza hissed, shooting forward through the void. To Erza, sometimes sight wasn't always necessary. The long, thin blade cut through the darkness. Its swift slim edge clashed against the skin of the silver gun. Sparks flickered and died, lighting the shiny surfaces for a split second. The quick, sharp ring of metal colliding rippled through the small cell.

"Natsu!" Gray's voice snapped from the space near the dragon slayer. "Light this."

"What?" Natsu grumbled, half-distracted with holding the unconscious mage.

"Light this!" Gray barked impatiently. Natsu shifted Lucy's weight into one arm, lifting up the other. Fire coated Natsu's fist in orange, lighting up the surroundings. Gray sunk to a crouch, holding a long baton of ice in his hand. Cloth wrapped an end which was dipped into the glove of fire around Natsu's fist. Flames leapt onto the cloth, beaming light and scaring away the shadows of the cell. Natsu caught sight of the bare bed and realized where Gray had got the cloth. He had been curious about that at the back of his mind.

The ice mage lifted it above his head, reaching the corners of the dark. Erza's blade struck out furiously at Silver, travelling so fast it became a flickering blur.

Silver only used a small silver gun to meet Erza's swing with ease, which was practically impossible. His arm seemed to disappear and reappear quick enough to deflect each swing of the reequip mage's sword. As soon as she hit, her sword had already rebounded, ready for another shot.

"You're mistaken, Titania." Silver's voice grumbled impatiently.

"You just attacked Lucy!" Erza retorted, throwing her blade his way.

"That is exactly where you are mistaken!" Silver growled in the an irritated tone, fending off Erza's attack. He made no attempt to fight back, just simply tolerating what she threw at him.

Natsu held the limp Lucy pressed gently against his ridged shoulder, stiff with fear and rage. Slow deep breaths brushed the bare skin of his shoulder. Her heart beat was steady against his chest.

Natsu really wished, deep down, that he could go and beat the hell out of the guy. That fiend shot Lucy with some crazed-up juice. They didn't even know what it was, never mind what it was going to do to was the only reason he didn't move, because he couldn't find the strength or the courage to leave her.

A soft grumble broke Natsu from his stiff fluctuation of emotion and thoughts. Night eyes whirled next to him, meeting a soft pair of chocolate pools fluttering open. The blonde mage stirred as she raised her chin up to see the dragon slayer. Her gaze looked directly at him. But it was weird. She was there, next to him, but Natsu couldn't shake the feeling that she was somewhat separated from him, behind a glass wall that he could never break. "Luce?" Natsu muttered.

Gray and Happy drew themselves away from the fight, turning to see the awakened Lucy. Relief swept across their faces, scaring away the anxiety that had pulsed through their veins. "Lucy, you're okay!" Happy wailed, crashing into her chest. Natsu's arm, still wrapped protectively around her shoulder, managed to take the force of Happy's abrupt attack on Lucy.

"Whoa, Haps. Careful." Natsu cut into the cat's sobbing. His voice was gentle and cautious, in the caring way. However, something in his tone indicated he was weary and uncertain. Onyx eyes never left Lucy's gaze like they were trying to see something that floated just beneath her surface. Happy slowly pulled away, looking tentatively at Lucy, sensing Natsu's feelings. Brown eyes scattered over his blue face, looking at him with an unsettling transparency. At the same time, she looked at him with big trusting eyes like a baby would to their own mother. It was definitely strange.

"Hey, what's up with Lucy?" Gray asked unnervingly. The ice mage crouched down beside the dragon slayer, giving his own unsettled assessment of the blonde with sharp, dark eyes.

"I dunno." Natsu replied. The words began to tumble out of his mouth, his eyes scanning her frantically. "She- I mean, she's awake and breathing. But- she looks..."

"Dazed." Happy filled in. It was rare for Natsu to panic. When he did, his voice seemed to heighten just a little. It would really only be noticeable with Happy's sensitive cat hearing. It was easy for the feline to tell Natsu's emotions.

"Lucy?" Gray spoke in a gentle, soothing voice. He waved a large hand in front of her face.

Lucy turned to look at him with calm, fixed eyes. Normally, people who looked at him that way always sent a shiver down his spine. That was because he could always see them judging and thinking about him with echoing transparency.

Looking at Lucy as she was then, he had the strangest sense of calm ease inside him. Lucy always had a little bit of that look in her eyes every now and then, it nearly always gave him the creeps when she did it. Those times it was on purpose. But in the present, there was an undeniable innocence with the way she looked. There was no judgment, prejudice or anything hidden behind her chocolate brown orbs.

"It's like she's not thinking." Gray muttered aloud accidentally.

"I should give you more credit, boy." Silver seemed genuinely surprised behind him. Gray hadn't realized the absence of metal crashing against each other until just then. Erza moved closer, raising a sharp black sword in Silver's direction. Her eyes watched him with caution, but her body gravitated towards Lucy. Erza's clear eyes scanned her thoroughly. Lucy didn't seem too bothered by it, her attention was still locked onto Gray's face.

"What do you mean?" Gray hissed, tasting the bitterness in his mouth that laced every word he threw at the fox-like man. He really didn't like him.

"You're right; She isn't thinking." Silver explained. It seemed like he gave little concern for the blade grazing his neck.

"What did you-" Gray's face burst with anger.

"It's not permanent." Issac promptly cut him off. "It'll wear off in about ten minutes or so." Frosted grey eyes looked at Lucy tiresomely. His quick response wasn't feeling as threatened as it did tired. Silver seemed to be bending his patience just talking to them. For simple reasons, Gray really felt like pushing it. Probably not a wide choice. Gray untangled the desire to punch Silver square in the face, and turned to Natsu.

Lucy's calm body sat propped up, her eyes curiously assessing her folded legs beneath her. Somehow, she lifted herself up, regained her footing and stood. At first she swayed a little, but managed to keep her balance. Big brown eyes met them at face-level, watching with simplicity, her expression soft. One look, and it was easy to read the kind of relationship she had with you. It was so strange. The usual dominance of her emotions, or the guard that was always up, wasn't there. wore some kind of physiological armor. Didn't everyone? Then again, hers had always been thicker than most. It had thinned considerably since she had been at Fairy Tail. Still, her trust was shielded and at the same time, generous. Natsu always liked that about her. Looking at her unprotected, open, vulnerable self, Natsu couldn't help but soften. It was hard not to see the smallness of a child inside her. The expression lifted a foggy memory up into his thoughts. The same gaze rested in her eyes on the night Jaedou has attempted to kidnap her.

It had obviously failed back then, but Lucy's mind had seemed like a shallow pond. It was easily seen if he looked past the pain, lostness and fear that-

Natsu quickly squeezed his eyes shut. The rest didn't need to be repeated, it was enough just to recognise the link.

The affects of the potion was already beginning to slowly fade on her face. Small quizzical and curious phases flinted in her eyes. The thoughtfulness that always seemed to glow in her honey eyes was returning. She was always thinking about something. Maybe that was why she looked somewhat alienated and foreign to him before.

Blackness swarmed on the outside of their little ball of light. Her surroundings fell out of focus. Faces hovered around her. Lucy looked from one to the other. Feelings bubbled to the surface of her heart, as she gave each one a lingering stare. Many times, she tried to think of their names, but couldn't quite grasp them. It was like trying to pick up something slimy that always seemed to slip through her fingers. Out of all the faces, one caught her eyes. Her heart squeezed, raditating pulsating warmth down her bones. It was like a little fire in her heart. A flame lit in her mind, burning steady and constant. Fire burns but her flame was different, it didn't burn things, it protected them. It protected her. That kind of sensation bubbled like eletricity, shocking every cell in her body to life. "Natsu," She murmered, feeling the words slide of her tongue fluently, and ordinary. At the same time, a hot, painful and consticting feeling squeezed her stomach, making a subconscious sadness echo.

Why was she sad?

 


	12. Questions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lucy fights the effects of the poison whilst Silver's motives are revealed.

"Lucy!" Natsu exclaimed, a wave of relief fluttered through him. "I think it's wearing off!"

Happy inched closer, big eyes staring at Lucy's face with timid curiosity. Happy doubted it was wearing off as quick as Natsu thought. Saying his name had become a second nature to Lucy. Once or twice he'd heard her mumble it in her sleep. Happy acknowledged that Natsu _might_ be right. Recognition was slowly creeping up on her face. A little pink blush peaked on her cheeks as she began to slowly realize the embarrassment and self-consciousness of being looked at by everyone so close up.

"What did you give her?" Erza turned back on Issac, her voice as ice cold and sharp as frozen needles. The black, steady blade still hovered millimeters from Issac's throat. It may have just been Gray, but he was sure the sword was a little closer than before.

"Passion Flower -It's normally used on anxiety patients. It's a natural herb that neutralizes conscious thought." Issac stated bluntly with a matter-of-factually tone, as if everyone should know. Apparently, only the equip mage did.

"Passion Flower? That's highly addictive and the side effects are unknown." Erza exclaimed, letting her blade kiss the skin on his neck. A small bead of red blood dripped softly down his neck, careening into the dip of his collar bone. Silver seemed to barely notice. His eyes watched Lucy with a mild curiosity, fractionally aware of the fact he was still in a conversation with Erza.

"The only side-effect is a mild case of heightened emotions that last only up to two minutes." Issac's eyes slid over the red-haired mage. It's the first time since the prison visit that he'd shown any open hostility towards Erza.

"Wait." Gray's voice jumped up high in alert, finally noticing the super-obvious. "You're suppose to be in prison; A top security black-marked prison!" Gray exclaimed, his disbelief inching higher.

"Look at that," Silver sarcastically retorted, his jaw dropping with mock. "You do have a brain after all. And a pair of eyes to boot!" Gray shot him a narrowing stare, which Issac just shrugged off. "I broke out." He said with incredulous normality. "I thought you would have been informed."

"We was- I know- I mean-" Gray gave a heavy, disgruntled sigh. "I mean how?"

"Well that wasn't much of a question." Silver picked, obviously amused. "You-"

"How the hell did you break out of the highest security prison in Fiore?" Erza barked. Gray was beginning to get the feeling she liked Silver less than Gray did- quite the feat, looking at how much Gray disliked the irritating fox.

"I walked out." Issac replied once again with the same plaintive tone.

"You can't have just-" Erza began to retort.

"Oh, but I did." Issac purred. His stare stopped sharply on Erza. A horrible, disturbing smirk twisted on his lips. "Does that scare you, Titania?" The heavy atmosphere fell down on Gray like stone. It was a daunting thought considering if his legs would or wouldn't break under it's alarming mass.

A sharp squeal of fright and shock broke the silence. Everyone's eyes, even Silver's whirled round in surprise.

Lucy's body pinned itself back against the damp, wet wall. Pale red arms covered in scratches, blundered desperately up against the brick. Her feet pushed furiously against the floor, attempting to dig her heels in as hard as she could. She was trying her hardest to make as much distance as she could. Color drained from her face, leaving her skin a chalky-white. Big brown orbs were completely overtaken with fear. Lucy was so utterly frightened.

Gray's eyes jumped, following her frozen gaze. Unsurprisingly, it lead back to Silver. Gray stared with mild disbelief at his reaction. Shock peaked on Silver's face as he stared back at the girl with stiff dismay, his lips hardening into a straight line. Gray might have been mistaken, but those steeled eyes, looked just a little bit hurt. Emotion quickly retracted from his face into something cold and hard.

While Gray processed the situation, leaving behind Silver's unfathomable reaction, he realized Natsu was one step ahead of him. Two arms expanded to his sides, legs spread evenly apart, he placed his body directly between Lucy and Issac.

Warm brown eyes were filled with so much fear, it was almost impossible. Or so Natsu's heart told him. It was hard to ever imagine how Lucy had ended up ever feeling so scared. More than anything, it hurt. It hurt so bad that Natsu wasn't able to protect her from the past that frightened her so much. Raw tender pain seared through his body, echoing from somewhere deep inside him.

Natsu wasn't a god, he couldn't protect her from the past. But he could protect her now. Even if it was just a little, he could keep her safe. If that meant fighting a black-marked criminal who walked out of a top-security prison, he would do so until death.

Eventually, Gray, Happy and Erza blundered into the situation. They took up arms and quickly formed a barricade around the frozen blonde. Lucy was curled up in a whimpering ball, breathing short calming breaths. Happy moved by her side and tried to comfort her. Natsu could tell the affects of the syrum were still in effect in her system. When she was scared, no matter how much, Lucy would put on a mask and face her fear. That was one of the things that made her strong. But, at the same time, it hurt her inside. That was a painful admiration he felt.

Passion Flower's effects on her made her bare her emotions openly, and bit by bit she was trying to put her mask back together. Tears had already stopped falling from her ringed eyes. With Lucy this vulnerable, it gave Natsu a chance to show how he would protect her from harm. This time, Natsu could be her strength.

While Natsu hovered protectively close, Erza was already in full assault. Her striking blade pierced the air, grazing Issac's red smudge neck. Lucy's squeal had caught Erza by surprise, making her lower her blade. It had given Silver the opportunity to side-step it by at least a foot. Smooth agile movements took his body in a swift flow. Dodging her high speed flying black weapon seemed easy enough to him. Even so, his attention towards her was lacking on his face. It wasn't like he needed any at all. Erza had failed to land a blow on him earlier and once again, she wasn't able to. Her blade at his throat made him seem unfazed. At first, she thought he was persuasively trying to look impassive. She realized, he had no fear, tension or worry aimed at her at all. That much she should have expected. You don't get to be a black-marked criminal for nothing. Jellal had been close but Silver was on a whole new level.

Instead, his glaciated silver eyes were attentive on someone behind her. Erza didn't need more than one guess; she knew she was right. Lucy.

Erza, of all people, wasn't getting anywhere. Not even a flinch. Silver's body was like paper, gliding around the air of the slicing force of her sword with unreal weightless agility. Jumping in and out of different armors, swinging weapons and fists, all to be dodged. It was impossible. How strong was he? Gray didn't like what he didn't know. However, that wouldn't stop him from fighting. Maybe it needed both him and Erza to get a hit on the guy.

The ice torch slid between a chain link of the prison bed. Gray's fist pounded against his palm, drawing magic from inside. "Ice make:-" Gray roared, jumping into battle.

"Happy?" Lucy whimpered. Blonde hair plastered to the side of her face with cold sweat. Brown eyes looked up to the cat with bone-deep tiredness. Pale skin and blue lips were damp with tears. Lucy had stopped crying, wiping the tears away on the back of her hand. She had screamed, curled into a ball in fear, and cried, burning through the aftermath of the Passion Flower injection. Calming exhaustion settled in as she untangled her ball of limbs.

"Lucy are you okay?" Happy asked hesitantly. She looked up at him with a gentle smile that she knew looked fractured. She gave up and lifted a hand. Aching fingers ruffled the blue fur on top of his anxious face. Black, large eyes beaded with tears of relief. "I'm alright." She whispered back in a hoarse weak voice. A whirling ball of blue thudded against her chest, almost knocking her over. Her heart still pounded like a jackhammer inside her chest. She absently wondered if Happy could feel it.

At that moment, she saw a familiar back looming up ahead of her. Muscles ripple and twinged under his silk vest. White, scaled fabric fluttered in the draft that echoed in the cold. Shoulders flinched and jumped. Feet shuffled anxiously on the floor. Hands clasped and unclasped tensely -a rare nervous gesture of his when he was holding himself back from a fight, which was unusual for Natsu; Hence she knew he stood unmistakably in front of her. It felt good to hear his name echo in her thoughts again. It was weird not being able to when it was so frequently there. That, she realized, had only come to her a few moments ago. _You don't notice what you have until you lose it,_ she thought. That saying, in some stripped-down-to-the-bone principle, kind of applied in the present situation. Still, she didn't find it all that relevant at the moment in time- Just an odd thought.

Ringing of metal managed to shake and splinter her thoughts. Lucy pushed onto the wall for support, lifting herself off the ground. To her oblivious surprise, her legs caved underneath her. Strength had been completely sapped out of them. Every time she tried to lift herself, she'd fall into a weak heap on the floor, letting out a growl of frustration.

"Natsu." She called. Even her voice sounded weak and faint. Not that it needed to be that loud anyway. She could have breathed his name, and he still would have heard it.

Dragon slayer's had good ears; Sometimes a blessing, sometimes a curse, depending on her mood and situation. During the moment at hand, she was glad of it.

Natsu's body whirled towards her lightening quick. Onyx eyes took in everything about her in a second. Muscles in his shoulders went rigid as he met her gaze. Lucy watched him with a strange paralysis of shock. Natsu looked so...determined. Earlier, his soft gaze had traced the lines of her face. Looking at him like that made her feel so warm, so peaceful and calm. Even without thought, she knew he was safe. She also realized that she trusted him with her entire heart. But what was that trouble look? It seemed to have torn straight into her chest. Undeniable pain radiating like an ice wave down her spine. Why, hidden in those dark, gentle eyes, was there so much sadness?

Cold sorrow dissipated like melting snow. After a quick glance over his shoulder, he crouched down to her height, looking her directly in the eye. "Yo, Luce!" Natsu lifted a hand in greeting, giving his signature grin. That smile alone was magical, making all her worries seem trivial. A little stowaway butterfly fluttered in her stomach, causing her heart to squeeze a little bit. "You feelin' better?" A pink eyebrow arched up in a curve. He looked like a curious puppy, Lucy thought amusingly. A small giggle chuckled at the bottom of her chest. Lucy gave a weak smile, in reply. "Yeah, better." She whispered gently. Something heavy still pushed a crushing, panicked weight on her chest. Suppressing it was difficult, but she could manage. That blinding fear had completely overwhelmed her, so much so she couldn't think, just react. Issac Silver's face had become the medium of a nightmare for her after the first recurrence of her past in her dreams so many nights ago. Being frightened, making everyone protect her, even when it was her who dragged them here, was being selfish.

The injection was the same as that night in the landlady's kitchen, where she thought she saw the shackles clasped around her wrists. She had convinced herself she was here again; alone, in the room. She was scarred little Lucy Heartfilia again. Those shiny black stones that crawled out of the darkness, knowing pain would follow them. A pressure had crushed her mind on the inside, like trying to squeeze a boulder into her small skull. She didn't even feel the injection, she was so cut off. All her vision, the shackles, shoes and pain all melted away like running water. Then, she saw the faces. Her mind couldn't grasp thought. But seeing the dragon slayer's face was her sanctum. He was there again, to hold her steady.

"Help me up?" She asked, after realizing she wasn't going to lift her exhausted lump of flesh and bone off the ground alone. Hesitation crossed Natsu's face, but it sunk away into a partial sulk. Obviously, Natsu didn't think she should get up. Even so, he decided not to say anything. One arm swung over his shoulder and his went around her waist. Happy held her free hand for balance as she rose, leaning most of her weight onto the dragon slayer.

Erza and Gray were darting back and forth, launching attack at the silver-haired man. Lucy hadn't realized she flinched at the sight of him, but by Natsu's expression, it was obvious. It seemed like her two other mage friends, had failed to land a single hit. The steel hand gun in Silver's large palm was engraved with sword slash marks and ice chips, but he was otherwise unmarked. Issac didn't bother to lift a finger against them. All he did was dodge and break their advances. Strangely, Lucy hadn't expected them to be able to win against him, even though she had undying faith in both her friend's strengths, especially Erza's. Deep down, that was a sickening thought. There was also that feeling that contradicted that; One that was never really sure just how much her team mates were capable of.

"Silver." Lucy called, expecting them to stop. She forgot her voice had faded into a pitch just a little louder than a whisper. Natsu gave her a short glance with an uneasy and sympathetic smile.

"Silver." Natsu snapped. He didn't shout but his voice was firm. It resounded off the small walls of the cave, bringing everyone to an immediate, obedient stop.

Erza and Grays eyes registered Lucy first with surprise and underlying concern. She appreciated that they didn't say anything. Issac's eyes rolled over to her with a lazy glare. Somehow, Lucy suspected seeing her stood up wasn't much of a surprise. Issac's attention hadn't been completely focused on Erza and Gray. Part of it, had been on her. He ignored Natsu completely, staring directly at her. It was a little uncomfortable being under such a heavy stare. Lucy assumed he meant it that way. It could be worst if she pushed it so she decided against doing so.

"You're not here for no reason, right? Why did you come find us?" Lucy was surprised her voice was getting louder. Maybe it was just because of the silence. A smile twitched on Silver's lips and his gaze softened a fraction. The dirty grey eyes moved away, examining the wall in front of him with lacking interest.

"Nothing gets past you, Lucy Heartfilia." Silver admitted. Quick exchanged looks of surprise passed around the rest of Lucy's team's faces. As if they hadn't really thought about it until Lucy mentioned it. It seemed very plausible.

"You came here looking for us?" Gray repeated stupendously.

"Well done, boy, you an mimic words like a parrot." Issac grumbled with extra-sarcasm which wasn't necessary. After a second of considerations, he corrected his tone and added genuine seriousness "I'm quite impressed."

"Hey-!" Gray snapped back, opening his mouth to say something more. Lucy quickly intervened.

"What do you want, Silver?" Lucy said sharply. Natsu was impressed at how stern her voice was. Impatience was brimming, summoning her authoritative tone. Silver looked at her with slight surprise. For a long second, he regarded her with faint caution. It settled into a sad kind of relief. An old relief, Natsu recognized.

Finally, he replied. "I came to find you to offer my help."

 


	13. Doorway to Darkness

The long narrow hallways all looked exactly the same. It was even the same distances from one turning to the next. They always came to a crossroad with a left, right or forwards directional decision to make.

By now, they had taken three rights and were proceeding down a fourth. Four rights of the same length corridor had to make a square. Were they walking in circles? Even though logic argued with her something was stubbornly telling her, telling her they're moving in a different direction. How weird.

They moved further down the corridors with a fast but cautious pace. Natsu walked a little ahead of her, surprisingly attentive to the threats that laid in hiding around him.

Lucy suddenly felt guilty. Everyone, even Happy, was keeping an eye out for anything suspicious, while she carelessly walked in between them all.

Brown eyes slipped down from the dragon slayer's back, watching the floor that could be seen ahead of them. The brick stone floor was the same as the hallway they entered first. Moss glazed with a damp layer of water shimmered under Gray's torch light like the skin of a snake. She was surprised that the torch hadn't melted yet; being that it was made of ice. Maybe Gray was doing something to it to stop it from melting.

The longer they went, the easier it was for Lucy to accidentally become distracted. Her attention span was shorter than Natsu's after the eighty-something corner, which was about a hundred junctions ago.

Her mind seemed intent on mulling over Natsu and bringing up all the times he'd helped her. The dragon slayer was somewhat like a knight in shining armor. Sure, he goofed around a bit, ate all her food and snuck into her bed at night. Not to mention, his childish behavior and his knack for destroying pretty much anything. Overall, Natsu was a good guy, a really, really good guy.

A small breath of laughter slipped out her thoughts, catching Natsu's attention. His head glanced back over his shoulder at her, offering a cheeky smile. Lucy just rolled her eyes at him, moving her gaze back to the floor.

One second later, Lucy watched as Natsu's foot dropped, pushing a palm-sized rock into the ground. Everyone froze, listening to the rumbling sound of movement under their feet.

Suddenly, a great big crevice opened up under Natsu's feet, catching him off guard. And then he was gone, falling into the great black abyss. Lucy didn't even have time to react; she just stared as Natsu was disappearing from her.

Lucy hadn't seen him move, but Silver was there, hanging onto Natsu by the back of the neck. Lucy stood still, staring at the hanging dragon slayer in disbelief.

Silver wasn't remotely surprised, dragging the boy back up to the stable floor with ease, just as the floor snapped shut beneath them.

Natsu recovered quickly, standing up and dusting himself off. By then, Silver was already moving ahead. Natsu's eyes glared ungratefully at Silver. His feet chased after the fox, as if he was running away with his man-pride, and walked coldly next to him. And that was that. They continued to move down the corridors like absolutely nothing happened, leaving the rest of them to catch up.

Natsu's feet walked softly next to hers, never straying too far away. Dark watchful eyes locked onto Silver's back warily. Small, faint pulses of heat radiated into the air around him. Lucy noticed a long time ago that it wasn't Natsu's body temperature that always made him feel hot. His body was constantly pulsating heat into the atmosphere around his body. Luckily, Lucy was just close enough to feel the warmth of his bubble of heat. It was a relief compared to the cold chilling breeze of the hall.

Natsu gave her a quick glance down his shoulder. He instantly recognized her moves with faint amusement. Slowly, his feet crept closer until their shoulders just grazed each other's.

Heat cocooned around her body and heart. There was a strange sense of safety and security when she stood next to her dragon slayer. There was always something about him that made him so reliable.

"Oi, how long are we going to be walking for?" Gray's voice cut off her thoughts. Silver waited a small millisecond before he replied, which was just long enough to irritate Gray. Then again, the ice mage seemed to be looking for any reason to be irritated with the silver-haired man.

"They're long tunnels. They've have been added and reworked some since I last came here." Silver replied bluntly, carrying on through a junction.

"That doesn't answer my question." Gray growled back.

"That's because there ain't any answer to give." Silver replied, his voice peculiarly calm and concentrated.

"Tsk." Gray clicked his tongue, switching the torch into his opposite hand.

It was another hour before anyone else spoke again. Natsu and Lucy seemed perfectly content walking silently in each other's company. It was surprising to see the dragon slayer so quiet for such a long period of time.

Up ahead, Silver's eyes stared flatly at the grey walls searching for markings. The visible side of his face was illuminated by the torch light, shadowing the many lines on his face.

Lucy suddenly noticed the slight shift of his lips. It was like he was talking to himself. What was he saying? Big brown eyes zoomed in on his lips, carefully watching each movement.

It slowly became clear. His lips were fluently speaking a language that made no sound. He was talking to her through his lips.

' _Lucy, surely you haven't forgotten,'_ his lips worded. Lucy was able to see, read and decipher each word.

During her time in the cells she'd learnt to evaluate people, workers, prisoners even Silver and Jaedou. Lilianne had taught her the basics at first, saying it might come in handy. But after she was gone, Lucy had taught herself to lip-read.

_'I haven't'_ Lucy mouthed back subtly. Dirt grey eyes slid over for a second, watching her lips. Then they turned back to the wall, seeming extremely serious.

_'You've grown up.'_ Silver mouthed. _'You were so small back then.'_

_'This is no time or place to be reminiscing.'_ Lucy feared she may have moved her lips a little too fast for him to read, slightly irate with his small-talk. So she calmed and slowed down with her mouth movements. _'I didn't think you were the sentimental type, or any type with feelings'_

There was a slight pause before Silver spoke; the emotion of what little there was dulled. _'We're all human'_ Grey eyes slid forwards towards the dragon slayer, moving a pace or two ahead of them. _'You've found some good friends.'_

Brown eyes examined the old man with slight suspicion before they softly gravitated ahead of her. She watched his tall unscarred back, always moving forward. _'Yeah...I did.'_ A small smile touched the edges of her lips, listening to the footsteps resounding behind her; the footsteps of her friends.

_'Jaedou shouldn't be taken lightly,'_ Silver added, his eyes watching ahead with grey clouds swarming his irises.

_'I know.'_ Lucy replied softly, and slowly. It wasn't the first time she'd thought about it. Jaedou, a black-list criminal, kidnapper...murder.

_'Then why come alone?'_ Silver asked his silent tone neutral.

_'Alone? I have-'_

_'You are here with your friends. But your heart is not. It is all alone. You've known that from the beginning.'_ Silver interrupted.

_'I am alone.'_ Lucy admitted. Silver, only for a second, slowed, letting his attentive eyes fall fully on her. Her words caught him off guard. _'But...'_ she continued. _'I have no doubt that one day, I can take their outstretched hand. When that day comes, in a day, month, even a year...I will never be alone again,'_

Silver's eyes watched her for a long, long moment. Until finally he said. _'I understand.'_ and moved forward.

Isaac slightly increased the speed of his pace, moving up and ahead of Natsu. At the same time, the dragon slayer slowed down, falling into step besides the celestial wizard.

Dark jet eyes scanned her curiously. Lucy offered a weak smile, which he took. Brown eyes shot back to Silver. A small feeling inside of her hinted that somehow, if only a little, their relationship had shifted.

"We're here." Silver's voice cut through Lucy's mind fog.

In the clearing, a black, ominous door loomed up ahead of them. It was plain and simply black. Rough cut edges around the door frame shower it had been renovated and expanded.

Dark rusted edges over the hinge showed its age. It hadn't been opened in a while by the looks of it. Then again, looks can be deceiving. Flecks of chipped rust scattered the floor around the range of the door's opening path.

"He's here." Silver's voice cut through the atmosphere like an ice dagger.

A heavy inescapable weight pushed down on Lucy's chest. Her heart squeezed and struggled underneath it. Breathing became hard and painful. Blood pulsed thickly through her veins like congealed milk.

He's in there...he's really in there, Lucy thought. Hot tears stung her eyes threatening for tears to fall. That man who ruined her childhood, killed her friends, hurt the people she cared about, was right behind that door.

"Lucy?" Natsu muttered beside her. Distress raged in her brown chocolate eyes. Slow heavy breaths staggered in and out her lungs. Something sharp and constricting clutched her heart

"It's okay." Lucy whispered, spreading her feet to steady her balance. "I want...I need to.' Lucy gasped.

"Okay." Natsu spoke. One simple word shook her heart like a tsunami. All her emotions, the anger, the pain and sorrow, were quelled. His voice filled with such certainty, such strength, and courage. It was frightening. How does he have the power to make her feel that way with just one, single word. "This is something you've got to do, right?"

Lucy looked up, feeling her world settle around her with brilliant sharpness. Natsu wasn't looking at her. Dark eyes stared onward at the door like an obstacle he was about to face. There was something in those eyes, something that was never clear to others, but was always so strong in his. "In that case, why don't we do it together, Luce?" Natsu's head tilted over his shoulder, his eyes cast calmly down at her with such simpleness that everything else became trivial. That same gaze made her resolve grow even more unshakable. Those black eyes that made her able to do anything, could be very, very, dangerous. "Shall we go?"

"Yeah," Lucy muttered, taking her place besides the dragon slayer as they faced their new challenge together. "Let's go."

As they stood in front of the door, Gray, Erza and Happy moved up along side them. "We'll be your strength too Lucy. We'll all stand strong together." Erza whispered. Maybe, Lucy thought, that hand wasn't as far away as she thought.

At that moment, Silver moved forward, pushing the door open and letting orange light pierce through into the darkness ahead of them...

Levy nervously fiddled and shuffled papers around over the tables, organizing things and then re-organizing them again. Gajeel watched from a distance, pondering the best way to approach the situation. In the end, he couldn't seem to find anything suitable, and gave up, walking directly towards her.

The book mage took notice of him almost straight away, giving him a small, warm smile. "Hey, Gajeel." She greeted, shuffling a pile of papers into two different piles.

"What's up?" The iron slayer asked, not being one to follow formalities.

"Nothing." Levy hesitated, then continued to join her two paper piles back into one.

"You've been organizing this table for the last few hours." Gajeel interrupted, setting a big paw of a hand over the paper she still shuffled. Levy froze, turning back to look at him with big blue eyes. She was stood so close, a soft pink blush slowly crept up onto the iron mage's face.

"It's just, Lucy left a while ago, and she hasn't been back for hours. Not to mention, Natsu, Happy, Erza and Gray are nowhere to be found." Levy poured out her stresses a mile a minute. Poor Gajeel had to think quick to keep up. The girl let out a long sigh, sinking into the closest booth seat. "Sorry Gajeel, I didn't mean to sound so stressed out." Levy whimpered, revealing she'd seen his strained speed-listening expression.

"Look, shrimp." Gajeel checked-himself. "Everyone including that stupid fire-idiot has probably just gone to cheer up bunny-girl. They'll be back soon." Unconsciously, Gajeel's hand had moved to ruffle the blue-haired girl's hair, feeling it soft and bouncy between his fingers.

When he pulled it away, he realized the girl was oddly stiff. As his eyes moved for a closer inspection, he noticed the hot-crimson blush burning on her face. Pins and needles vibrated through his hand, making his own face turn hot red with embarrassment. Both awkwardly stood there unsure of what to do.

Quickly, Gajeel took the initiative to look around. In the end, he noticed a book fallen on its front on the floor under the table. The iron dragon slayer swiped it up into his palm quickly, examining the book. "What's this?" He asked, more aloud than directly to anyone. Even so, Levy leapt up, prying the book from his hands in an instant.

"It's the book me and Lucy were reading earlier." Levy's fingers flickered through the pages, searching for something in particular.

"What are you looking for?" Gajeel asked curiously, leaning over her shoulder. Both of them seemed oblivious or too curious to notice the small approximation between each other.

When Levy found the page, her eyes slowed scanning over a page. "' _The monster that lurks does not hide in solitude, but stalks in the dark. For where there is darkness, there is a shadow. You cannot run from a shadow, you cannot hide from shadow. To be free from a shadow, you must first, delve into the dark.'_ " Levy read aloud.

"That's one messed up book. What's it called?" Gajeel commented. Levy closed the book, examining the faded cover.

"We don't know. The title's too faint to read." Levy announced sadly, looking disheartened at the book. Gajeel looked at it thoughtfully for a second. He quickly, swooped down, pinching the book away from her palms.

"You just need someone with better eyesight." Gajeel replied smugly, spinning away, examining the book close to his face.

"Let me guess. You mean you?" Levy teased with a mocking expression.

"Yup." Gajeel replied certainly. He stared hard at the book, bringing it closer and further from his face, switching from his left to right eye, holding it to and from the light. "Got it!" Gajeel finally said, handing Levy back to the book with a smug smile.

"So what's it called?" Levy asked, examining the book.

"Shadow." As soon as the words left Gajeel's mouth, a burst of cold air sent papers fluttering everywhere. All eyes swept towards the open guild doors and the dark figure standing in it.

  


 


	14. Jeadou

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Finally, our dark antagonist takes his steps out of the shadows...

The pale light was mistakenly dark. Darkness swallowed the room, coating everything a barely visible black. There were no windows, doors or any other opening anywhere. Their weak human eyes only allowed them to see as far as their cocoon of light.

The flames danced, leapt and flickered on the tip of Gray's ice torch. It was still surprising that thing hadn't melted yet. On the other hand, the cloth on the end was already dropping into charred ash.

"Be careful where you step, even if we've managed to pass the traps in the hall, there may still be some in here." Silver's voice echoed somewhere beyond the light into the darkness. He disappeared into it easily with the utmost confidence. For an old guy, his eye sight was far better than theirs.

"I don't like that guy being somewhere I can't see him." Natsu grumbled, his thin pink eyebrow subtly twitching. It always seemed to do that when ever he was irritated or annoyed. It was a little cute, actually.

They moved as a group, slowly slipping deeper and deeper into the darkness. Lucy's eyes managed to adjust a little fast than the rest. Her confidence to weave around mask things grew as well. As far as she could tell, they were just in a big empty hall. There was nothing the-

She saw it.

It was like a big golden eye staring down at her with a crushing presence. It hung on the wall with huge intimidating size. Old black letters coiled around the circular rings of gold hanging around its center piece circle, engraved with sharp black wings. At the very center of the wings was a protruding, sharp, golden needle.

All of it came rushing back like a tsunami slamming into her chest. Air leapt out of her lungs as she staggered backwards in the dark. Strength swept out of her body, dragging her legs to her knees.

The screams, the pain, the darkness. She remembered it all. Those dark black shackles and endless terrifying nights. She'd suffered through so much. Burning tears rolled down over her cold cheeks. Lucy wanted so badly to wipe them away, but she struggled to even lift a finger, or even make a sound.

As soon as Natsu's eyes adjusted somewhat, he ventured away from the light, that way he could see better. That, and he was able to follow after Lucy who disappeared the moment they stepped through the door. The second he stepped out the circle, he wished he really couldn't see.

Blond hair spilled over her shoulders that shook like crazy. A pale hand pressed so tightly against her mouth, her knuckles turning white. Brown eyes widened in silent fear as pools of water rushed over her face.

Natsu felt the world slip from under his feet. Seeing Lucy like that had completely immobilized him. It wasn't like before, it wasn't even on the same level. Lucy was so frightened, more than he had ever seen her. "LUCE!" Natsu wailed in panic, his body bursting to life. His legs darting off in a sprint, desperately trying to reach her.

Everyone turned on him like lightning, their bodies turning to sprint after him.

The next thing any of them knew, their bodies were colliding with the hard cold floor. Startled yelps and grunts cut off sharply around him. All his strength tore out of his body, dropping him into a weak pile. He tried to move, to gather whatever was left of him and go to Lucy. It was useless, his body wasn't listening to him. His arms and legs wouldn't move. He couldn't get to her. There wasn't even enough energy left in him to say her name.

"Dammit!" Silver's voice growled with rage. "JAEDOU, GET YOUR ASS OUT HERE!" Silver roared.

"Since ya' asked so nicely." A soft voice called out from the shadows.

Shrill numbing ringing echoed off the walls. As it settled into a dull buzz, the darkness began to fade.

Dark eyes jumped around the room. A thick translucent tube hung over the plate steel walls. An ashen light tinted with gold began to burn through the tube. Light reacted every corner, burning away the darkness.

Natsu couldn't even find enough strength to lift his head. All his eyes could see was the tips of two black and shiny boots, treading past him lightly.

"Your speakin's just as bad as always." A voice -not Silver's- joked half-heartedly, finishing with a short crisp tone. Even though he hadn't heard it ever before, Natsu felt certain he knew the voice instantly; Jaedou's.

"Your's isn't any better." Silver grumbled back with a hiss, showing how not amused he was.

"Now, now comrade. You ain't suppose to speak that way. After all, we 'aven't seen each other in such a long, long time." The boots paced up and down in short, slow steps. "How long has it been, hmm? Since, y'know, ya' betrayed me and all that." The pacing stopped a few feet out of arms reach from the weakened dragon slayer. It didn't really matter how far away he was, Natsu couldn't even lift a finger against him.

"Straight to the point, huh? You never change." Silver spat back. The pacing started again, this time with a little more weight and speed behind each step.

"Unfortunately, ya did." Jaedou snapped back. A sharp set of coughs followed, with a staggering steps.

"What's wrong, Jaedou? Is your age finally catching up to you?" Silver joked sourly.

"Shut up." Jeadou snapped back, funneling all his irritation into his voice.

Silver hadn't seemed the witty-type at first to Natsu. He looked like a very serious, all-business type. However, seeing the other side of him made him appreciate that side of him a little. Positions were in reverse with the unison of the two old colleagues.

"You'll mind that silver tongue of yours before I start picking off your precious fairy pets one by one." Jaedou threatened. That was the first time Jaedou hinted that he even noticed their presence, Natsu realized. It also made him think how Jeadou must know how defenseless they all were.

There was a surprisingly long silence before Silver spoke, his voice very deep and threatening. "You don't want to do that."

Jeadou let out a harsh laugh and stopped cold a second later. "If ya' really think ya' can come at me and win, why'd ya' hide?"

"Somethings aren't worth getting involved in anymore." Silver replied offhandedly.

A split second later the shining black boots disappeared, replaced by a pair of scuffed army boots landing swiftly in their place. A delayed burst of air threw itself against Natsu, almost flipping his limp body over completely. The floor shook in time with the roar of a crash, sounding like something being thrown into the wall with incredible force. Falling debris and bricks, and metal plates clattered against the hard stone floor.

In that fraction of a moment, Natsu felt the heavy weight of exhaustion loosen a little bit, letting some of his strength return to him. More sounds of falling stones and metal echoed in the empty room, which he assumed was Jaedou picking himself up. Mustering whatever strength he could scrape together, Natsu pushed it into his arms, lifting himself a little bit off the ground.

A second later, he was pushed flat against the floor again. A light pressured pushed down on the center of his back, keeping him pinned down. It felt like a shoe. It occurred to Natsu that the black worn army boots were also missing. "Stay down, kid." Silver's voice whispered just soft enough for a dragon slayer to hear. It was also bold enough to shut up and make Natsu listen, because Silver sounded serious.

Silver was planning something, and for some odd and uncomfortable reason, Natsu trusted him. It was only a little bit, but enough for him to obey temporarily.

"You've gotten stronger, comrade." Jaedou hissed.

"Stop calling me comrade, old man." Silver toyed. His voice took on a more aggressive, taunting tone than his better one before. "Ten years, huh? You're beginning to look your age."

"Don't kid me, Silver. I've had to diet a bit, s'all." Jaedou replied.

"You don't call killing people a diet." Silver hissed.

" _You_ did, once upon a time. What was it _you_ used to say?" Jaedou mused. "Fish are friends, not food. So instead, we got peo-"

The weight pinning Natsu down vanished. Natsu managed to lift his head just enough to see what was going on.

Silver's fist pressed against the palm of a weary old hand. Then his body disappeared into thin air. It happened so fast Natsu could barely tell what was going on. Silver's huge muscular body slammed into the ground like a ten-tonne sledge hammer. Rubble spat up the ground as Silver's body dug ten foot into the solid stone floor.

Next to the hole, stood a tall man with broad wide shoulders. A tight black blazer stretched across his wide back. Dust and small debris powdered black suit and stained his long black hair white. A white open shirt, torn in several places, revealed a pure muscled chest. After everything, his black boots still had their glossy shine. On his head, he wore a black, slim-rimmed hat. It reminded Natsu of one a cowboy might wear. It hid the roots of the long black hair, and shadowed his eyes. There was no doubt about it. That was the man who'd attacked him and Lucy the other night, the man who'd sent Lucy the weird gifts, and the man who'd made Lucy suffer so much pain. Jaedou.

All his rage bubbled to the surface, casting a red filter over his eyes. His hands itched so bad it was like they were burning to hit him. Every part of his body screamed to hurt the man the way he did to Lucy. He wanted vengeance.

Silver's words interrupted his thoughts. 'Stay down, kid.' His voice echoed with the strange seriousness that held him to the ground.

The same obedience swept over him again. It didn't fight or calm his need to avenge Lucy's suffering, but it did suppress it enough for slight rational thought to take over.

Even though he wished he couldn't admit it, Silver's words took top priority. Natsu would definitely get his chance for revenge.

Natsu bit down on his tongue, willing himself to remain hidden and watch.

Silver leapt out the hole with ease, looking mostly unchanged. You wouldn't be able to tell he created a ten foot man hole with just his body if it wasn't for the red mark grazing his shoulder.

There was no time wasted in waiting on Silver's part. He leapt back in, colliding fists with the man he used to call ' _partner_ '. "How the hell did you escape?" Silver roared, locking caught fists.

"They're not as strong as you think!" Jaedou snapped back with surprising resentment on a level he hadn't shown before. Whoever ' _they_ ' were, Jaedou had a deep-running hatred for them.

"You lie." Silver snapped back, a twisted smile of fear and admiration on his lips. "They could have killed you in an instant."

"They were stupid enough to underestimate me. I was locked in a prison! They should have killed me." Jaedou let out a rippling laughter, kicking back away from Issac, who just came straight back at him. "Luckily enough, everyone was too distracted with their precious leader."

"Ta-" Silver went to snap, but somehow managed to hold back.

"Aha. Did I catch your attention too?" Jaedou remarked, examining Silver with a curious gaze.

"As if, you bas-" Silver swung, his face contracting with frustration.

"You're wide open." Jeadou's smile plunged, his face completely serious. "Gravity:..." Jaedou dodged with impossible swiftness moving directly towards Silver. His bare hand launched forward, pushing against Silver's ribbed abs. "crush."

Silver's body froze, his dirt ice eyes bulging in shock and horror. Time seemed to slow as the huge Silver wall of a man dropped to his knees. Blood tickled down the edge of his mouth, his eyes fading shut. "Damn." Issac weakly cursed, letting time catch up as his body collapsed against the stone ground.

It was all over. Silver, the impossibly fast man with monstrous strength...was completely defeated. Natsu hated to admit it, but Silver was like a beast, a super powerful beast. He'd walked out of a black-marked prison with ease. Yet, it only took one touch to take him down. It felt like a sucker punch to the gut as Natsu stared at the limp Issac. He looked as if he could get up any second, saying something bad-ass like ' _as if that hurt me'_ or ' _don't underestimate me'._ He didn't get up.

Jaedou looked down at the silver-haired man laying defeat at his feet with pity. "It's a shame, Silver. I warned you that love is just a hindrance." A small sigh escaped from his lips, giving one last glance at him. Big, brown eyes like concaving holes did a quick check of the room with mild assessment.

The shadow over his face receded and Natsu finally got a clear look at his face. It was older than he had expected. Wrinkles indicated the years, and sagging cheeks were thieved of their youthful rose color. He looked around 50 or so.

The fact he was older made Silver's defeat even more surreal. Natsu had learnt not to underestimate an older man, but still...

Dark eyes suddenly flickered in his direction, startling his heart. Blood pumped furiously through the dragon slayer's veins with a hot, burning sensation that left coldness as it moved. He knew the feeling all too well.

"My, my a bunch of Fairy brats. What was that man thinking?" Jaedou sighed again. Brown-black eyes scanned lightly over Happy and Gray, hesitated over Erza and moved to him. A burst of intensity and deeply hidden rage flustered in his big dark eyes. They narrowed sharply on the dragon slayer, as the edge of his lip dropped in disbelief with a slight, mistakable hint of fear. "That hair...You can't be..." Jaedou drowned out his own voice, his boots quickly pacing over to where Natsu laid.

"DON'T YOU DARE TOUCH HIM!" A voice shouted sharply to his side.

Jaedou spun softly on his ankles, his gaze hungry and soft. Both his hands stuffed into his pockets as he regarded the situation with care-free relaxed eyes. "It's been a while, Lucy." Jaedou whispered with a hungry purr.

Lucy struggled to stand, her legs spread apart keeping her steady. Sweat glazed her skin. Heavy breathing rasped her breath. Eyes hung heavily, pupils dilated. Fabric of her shirt twisted in her fist gripping her chest. "Jaedou."


	15. Stand Against The Enemy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With Silver taken out, Lucy takes her stand to fight. But how long with Silver's words keep Natsu down?

"Jaedou." Lucy gasped, staggering forward.

"Ya ain't lookin' so good, flower. Have you been eatin' enough while I've been gone?" His mocking tone wasn't angering Natsu alone, the dragon slayer noticed the twitch in Lucy's lip.

However, Natsu had to admit, Lucy really didn't look good. Her clutching fist squeezed so tightly her knuckles turned white. Just the way she had to focus to stand, told him something was definitely up.

"Shut the hell up." Lucy snapped. It had been a while since Natsu had seen Lucy so fierce. It was hard to decided whether he was proud or not. Jaedou gave a slightly surprised reaction, raising an eyebrow at her curiously.

"You've grown up." He said, as if it never occurred to him that it would happen.

"You saw me the other night, right? When you broke into my home." Lucy growled. Her voice sounded weak and exhausted.

It appeared to him that she could be experiencing the same feelings as Natsu. Except, the hand on her chest kept nagging at him.

"Sure. That's right." Jaedou said thoughtfully. "We had quite the interruption." He took a quick glance back over his shoulder. The same narrow, unclouded eyes peered straight into him. It made him nervous to fake unconsciousness but he did it anyway. Relief spread through him as they moved away. A different kind of anxiety coursed through his veins as they set back on Lucy.

He wished he could just get between them, but there was still that unconscious pressure on his back and Silver's voice resounding in his mind. ' _Stay down, Kid.'_.

"Why did ya' come 'ere?" Jaedou asked with curiosity.

"It was only a matter of time. I took the initiative to come here on my own." Lucy answered, her eyes ablaze with determination. "I am not little Lucy Heartfilia anymore. I am Lucy of Fairy Tail. I will not hide from you any longer."

Jaedou's eyes examined her curiously with a tinge of happiness. After a moment, he shut his eyes, stood up straight and sighed. "It's true; You've really grown up. Ma little rose bud grew thorns, don't ya' agree?"

Lucy flinched, looking a little taken aback. She shook it off, spacing her feet further apart, her eyes narrowing.

No more words came from her as a hand swiped past her belt. A golden key was already twisting in the air by the time Natsu realized what she was doing. Lucy was going to fight him. Would it even be possible for her to beat him? Wait! Who was he kidding? It was Lucy he was talking about. Despite what everyone thought, Lucy was far more stronger than they imagined. Natsu could always sense that hidden strength buried deep inside her.

"GATE OF THE BULL: I OPEN THEE!" Lucy yelled. A bright golden glow lit up the room. Coils of golden rings bloomed from the edge of her key, revealing a celestial gateway. "TAURUS!" When it dimmed, a black and white cow stood tall, wielding a black, shining axe. That wasn't all.

Another hand grazed her belt, turning another gold key in the air. "GATE OF THE SCORPION: I OPEN THEE!" She called. Gold light revealed the red and black scorpion pointing his fearsome sharp tail at their opponent. "SCORPIO!"

"TAURUS! SCORPIO! COMBINATION ATTACK:" Lucy pointed a finger in Jaedou's direction. "AXE SANDSTORM!"

Scorpio summoned the sand immediately, tearing rocks apart beside him, leaving a big cavity in the floor. Taurus swung his axe, lining up with the sand attack.

Two celestial spirits? Lucy was going all out. She needed to. But something was bothering Natsu. Jaedou stood calm and relaxed, even as the attack was sent hurdling towards him. It approached with blundering speed, closing the distance rapidly.

A whisper cut into Natsu's thoughts. It was so quiet only he'd been able to hear it. "Gate of the bull: I force thee closed." Surprise wiped Natsu's mind. Why was she closing Taurus' gate. What was she up to? Had Taurus really gone back?

Just as the arrow of sand was about to graze his face, Jeadou flickered, moving just enough inches out the way of the attack. It passed him, rustling his long black hair strewn over his shoulders. But Lucy didn't look surprised. When Natsu turned back, he saw the sharp sand explode and disperse. A cloud of sound clotted the air around him. Jaedou just looked about it speculatively, showing no real concern.

To Natsu's surprise, Taurus leapt out of the sand from nowhere, his axe sent hurting towards Jaedou.

For a second, it looked like it might hit him. But Jaedou rounded on him in an instant, catching the heavy celestial blade with just two fingers.

"My, my, Lucy, your attacks are too predictable." Jaedou commented, half-heartedly.

Natsu's eyes leapt to Lucy. A small smile curled the edges of her lips. It was that deceptive smile that Natsu was always excited to see. The one that he always imagined was saying ' _Gotcha_ '.

Suddenly, Jaedou was sent hurdling out of the sand cloud. He collided into the wall with immense force, a cannon of water exploding over his chest.

Natsu blinked in disbelief as the cloud began to clear. With a long blue tail, and azure hair, was Aquarius. Natsu hadn't seen or heard Lucy summon her. There was no way he had seen it coming.

Next to her stood Taurus, his axe still held in his grip. But, Scorpio still stood by Lucy's side. That meant she was summoning three spirits all at once. When had she been able to do that?

Just before Natsu could start over-thinking it, Taurus' body began to ripple and distort until it finally collapsed into a puddle in the floor.

"Mirages." Aquarius spoke, her voice sounding complimentary for once. "A good idea."

_Mirages?_ Lucy out smarted Jaedou. Maybe that's what Silver was lacking. An overwhelming rush of pride swept over the dragon slayer.

"Thanks, Aquarius." Lucy panted. She still looked exhausted. Scorpio and Aquarius both noticed it. Their eyes narrowed on her.

"I wasn't talking to you." Aquarius grumbled, turning away from the mage. Lucy just gave her a weak smile.

"DON'T GET DISTRACTED!" Jaedou's voice thundered as a surging object swept past Natsu. Onyx eyes bounded to the man hole in the wall; It was empty.

Jaedou was whipping through the air at unimaginable speed. He was heading straight for the spirits.

A deadly fist raised, gaining momentum, heading straight for Aquarius.

Scorpio leapt in front of her, ready to protect her from the attack, but he wasn't given the chance.

"GATE OF THE CELESTIAL SPIRITS: I FORCE THEE CLOSED!" Lucy screamed, skimming two keys through the air.

Jaedou's fist split through disintegrating gold dust, hitting nothing. Lucy managed to close the gate instants before contact.

Jaedou's body twisted in the air, coming to a short stop as he landed. "Still can't bare to see others hurt for your sake?" Jaedou scoffed, his hat now gone, no doubt buried in the wall, revealing the pale white roots of his hair.

"I will always protect my friends!" Lucy growled. It wasn't exactly an answer to the question, but it was enough for him to get the point. "Gate of the-"

A hand thundered against her ribs. Jaedou's fist buried into her chest with incredible force. Lucy's body felt the force as a line of blood trickled down her chin, her eyes bulging open in shock. As Jaedou pulled his hand away, Lucy's body collapsed into a pile on the ground. It was over.

Natsu's eyes glared open in shock. Ice skated over his skin making everything feel numb. Lucy was down? Jeadou had beaten her as well? He'd hurt her again. Rage pushed up to the surface, making every single on of his muscles twist with strength. The red film cast over his eyes in blind rage.

Natsu's body propelled from the ground in a millisecond, hurdling himself at the man.

Jaedou had already sensed him coming. Shiny black boots twisted, his hand leaping out simultaneously. The flaming ball of fire crashed against his palm, disintegrating into the air. Dark boots were pushed back by the surprising force. It almost overwhelmed him, and Natsu wasn't waiting around for him to recover.

A swift foot leapt up, crashing against the man's cheek, sending Jaedou's body launching across the room. Jeadou quickly turned in the air, forcing himself to land in a sliding crouch. His boots dug into the ground, spitting up concrete and stone as he slowed to a stop.

Abyss dark eyes stared at Natsu with a deadly stare, quickly assessing his opponent.

Roaring red flames lit burst up and around the dragon slayer's body, making his pink hair flutter violently. Scales covered his bare skin. Talons sharpened his finger nails. Canine teeth protruded like buried knives. Dark eyes burned with anger.

"Dragon slayer." Jaedou hissed with so much open hostility.

"DON'T YOU DARE LAY YOUR HANDS ON LUCY!"Natsu roared, his hands tightening into fists by his side.

"So you are _his_ kid. I should 'ave known." Jaedou growled. Malicious energy began to pour out of him in buckets. "In that case, I'll take ya' head and give it to _him_ as a present. Can't wait to see the look on hi _s_ face."

Jaedou disappeared, flicking away with incredible speed. That didn't matter to Natsu. Speed was never silent. "IRON FIST OF THE FIRE DRAGON!" Natsu bellowed, his body moving with ferocious speed.

His flaming fist crashed down in the air ten feet away from him. Jaedou's body appeared underneath it, blocking Natsu's attack with his forearm. The force pushed his body down a few feet into the ground.

"Light on your feet, ain't ya?" Jaedou remarked, disappearing again from under his arm. Natsu's fist crashed down into the ground, biting into the hole under him. "But not quick enough!" Jaedou bellowed from above. His fist collided against Natsu's upraised arms, trying his best to block the punch.

The ground couldn't withstand the force on the dragon slayer's body and cracked through the center. As soon as Jaedou leapt back, Natsu sprung from the crater, thrusting a fist though the air.

The fist grazed Jaedou's pale chin, as he leapt back quickly to avoid it, creating a large space between them.

Natsu, carried through the attack, landing against the stone floor. Cracks broke into the ground as soon as his feet touched the floor, crushed by the overwhelming heat blazing from Natsu's body. "I won't let you touch Lucy!" Natsu declared again.

Jaedou sniggered, leaping back up into the air. Rock spat into the air as Natsu sprung from the ground, burning a deep whole into the stone, faltering from the pressure.

They collided mid-air, throwing fists and kicks so fast at each other it was impossible to see. Each managed to block and counter each other's speed.

Before the reached the ground, both scattered back away from each other, landing on all fours.

"As expected of _his_ son, I can't go easy on ya'." Jaedou sneered. A slim smile bloomed eagerly on his lips. "Be ready, pink-hair. You'll be witnessing my full power now!"

Natsu didn't have the willpower to hold back any longer. Whatever Jaedou was rambling on about didn't matter anymore. The dragon slayer burst from the floor, biting an even bigger whole into the ground as he sent himself hurting through the air.

Sound boomed through the air as Jaedou exploded from the ground. A hole ten-times the width and depth of Natsu's was left in his place, sizzling around the edges. Jaedou's speed increased wildly, moving too fast for Natsu to catch up.

"Gravity repel!" Jaedou's fist slammed against Natsu's face. The dragon slayer's body was sent shooting into the ground.

Foot after foot of concrete buried his body, crashing further and further down. Blood choked out his lungs in protest. Big black eyes just stared upwards in shock. Teeth gritted together so hard they could have shattered as he pounded through layer after layer.

_What the hell was that? How could he suddenly be so strong? Where did his power come from?_ Natsu's mind was screamed. If he was only beginning to use his magic now then he was never going all out before. All that speed and strength that Natsu was barely able to keep up with was just his physical strength! It was crazy. Impossible. How could a normal human be so strong?

Then again, he'd managed to take out everyone; Erza and Gray, Silver and Lucy, and him? Was he going to be defeated too? He had been going all out from the start, but Jaedou was always one step ahead. Then, it's the end? He can't protect his friends, allies, not even Lucy from just one man.

His body came to a grinding stop, stuck so deep that not even light reached him. Stone, debris and rock littered over his fallen body. He was buried in his own tomb. All his strength was gone from him now. Every inch of his body was numb. There was no way he could defeat anyone. It was all over.

"NATSU!" Lucy's voice roared. Salty, rushing tears poured down her face, trickling from her chin. "NATSU GET UP!" She cried, her hands balled into bloody, buried fists.

"My, my, ya' cry out for him, even when he can't lift a finger? How mean." Jaedou tutted, casually rolling up the edges of his torn sleeves. Sparkling black boots strolled over the silent, dark pit where Natsu laid at the bottom. Jaedou's flawless pale skin was covered in bleeding cuts and swelling bruises. Dark hair was strewn across his face, singed at some ends. His eyes held a pure serious gaze as they flickered to the dark hole, and back. Jaedou wasn't even serious when he fought Silver, but when it came to Natsu, it seemed he had to go all out.

"DAMMIT!" Lucy screamed, her body weakly dropping against the floor. "Why? Why is it you always go his far to protect me? Why do you put yourself through so much pain? NATSU!" Lucy shrieked, pounding her weak fists into the broken stone. "Natsu, I'm so sorry for being so weak. I am so, so sorry." All her pain, guilt and frustration overwhelmed her as she collapsed into a fragile pile on the floor.

Sleek boots slowly paced over, padding like a prowling cat stalking its pray. Those footsteps resounded through the halls, cells, walls and even deep down into the pit of a dark whole.

"Lucy..." A weak voice mumbled. Tears glinted and rolled down soiled skin into the ground stone. Muscles struggled and tightened with all the strength they could muster. Teeth gritted against each other, ignoring the pain covering his entire body.

The boots came closer. "Lucy, ma little Lucy." Jaedou's voice regarded her tenderly. Soft whimpering mumbles choked back her tears. Jaedou approached further, letting her words become clearer with each step.

"I am... the stars..." She mumbled. Jaedou's eye brows knitted together. His ears became sharper, concentrating on her words. "Complete. Open thy malevolent gate..." Lucy growled, her body began weakly lifting itself off the ground. Golden light crept up around her body, wrapping around her skin. Jaedou recognized it instantly. Black boots sprung from the floor, sprinting hard towards her. "O 88 stars of the heaven..." Lucy roared. The golden light burst up around her feet, revealing a golden magical circle encompassing the ground beneath her. She was almost there. The power reaching its limits, drawing the last of her strength. "Sta-"

Lucy's voice cut off with a sudden choke. The light vanished, her magic disappearing along with it. The spell fell apart.

A hand clamped around her fragile neck. "Lucy, Lucy," Jaedou tutted, dark eyes reaching her face, burning with such intense anger. Jaedou lifted her up with ease, shoving her up into the air. It was so hard to breath. Her hands clawed at his arms, but she could already sense the growing slack of her body from oxygen deprivation.

"DID YA REALLY THINK I WOULD LET YA DO THAT!" Jaedou's voice snapped, splintering through the air. His hand squeezed tighter, threatening to break her neck. A small whimper squealed out of Lucy's mouth. Jaedou blinked, staring curiously at his hand. His anger dissolved back into the black of his irises, as his emotions fell under control. They fell onto the pair of burning brown eyes, alive with pure rage and resentment. "Your eyes hold so much hatred." Jaedou chuckled, slackening the grip of his hand just enough for her to breath a little. Lucy gasped, sucking in the air with small sharp breaths.

"You...don't understand...anything." Lucy choked out.

"Don't I? Go 'on, explain it to me then." Jaedou's eye brows arched up curiously.

"Even if you...get me here...my friends will...never stop coming for me...no matter how many times...they're beaten. Even if you kill me...they'll hunt you down...They won't...give up." Lucy whispered. A small smug smile pulled her lips, her brown eyes lighting with so much hope and certainty.

"And what if I kill them?" Jaedou asked, the playfulness on his face setting into his harsh, sharp features.

"You can't." Lucy wheezed back.

"Why not?" Jaedou countered, his dark gaze piercing into her eyes. Lucy returned the glare, unflinching.

"Because they're strong." Lucy replied. Her voice was as strong as steel. There was so much certainty and pure faith in every word from her lips. Even though her friends had fallen, she still believed that they would come for her.

"Foolishness." Jaedou sighed. A sinister glint cast over his face as he took a long stride forwards.

Lucy's lungs burst out her small accumulation of air as she was thrust against something cold and hard. The ringing metal resounded throughout the halls. Horror dawned on her face, feeling its frozen touch skate her body. Her finger slipped loose from Jaedou's arm, dangling from the grip of his hand as the buckles and locks strapped her tight. The antique.

A smile lit Jaedou's lips. His body leaned closer, his finger tips grazing her ear. She was acutely aware of his hands running softly down her arm. She faintly felt the tight clasp squeezing around her wrist. The rest of her attention, was stuck sharply on his sickening, cold words. "Don't worry; It ain't gonna hurt." A hand slipped behind her ear, tucking something behind it. A red rose.

"Beautiful." Jaedou whispered, his hand covering her stricken face. "My little-"

"GET YOUR HANDS OFF HER!" A voice growled behind him. Jaedou's hand slipped from her cheek, an irritated snarl settling on his lips.

Lucy felt his voice pierce her thickening wall of fear, shattering her panicked shell. "NATSU!"

 


	16. Possession of the Heart

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Natsu fights off the persistent Jeadou but will Lucy be able to hang on much longer?

"Natsu!" Lucy cried out.

Dirt pink hair rustled in the weak draft. Warm tanned skin beaten, bruised and blood dripped onto the crushed stone white scaled scarf twisted around his neck, fluttering gently. The dragon slayer's body crouched on his knees, a fist burned into the ground. His head hung low, shadowing his eyes.

"Still alive, I see-" Jaedou's mouth pulled into a smirk.

"Lucy aint yours!" Natsu growled, all the muscles in his body rippling under the skin.

"Oh? Ya' want her all for ya'self?" Jaedou teased, turning slowly on his heels. His tone was light and calm, but his expression was anything but. It was dark, scary and a whole lot angry.

"You don't get it!" Natsu roared. "Lucy aint yours, and she aint mine either." Slowly, Natsu's body began to lift itself, dispite the struggle. He swayed and stumbled, but managed to regain his balance. His head slowly tilted upwards.

Black, burning eyes pierced through his layer of shadow with frighteningly epic intensity. "LUCY IS LUCY! SHE DOESN'T BELONGS TO ANYONE!" Natsu roared, his face turning to Jaedou's with whole determination.

"Natsu..." Lucy whimpered faintly, a small tear of relief trickling down her cheek.

"Sorry luce," Natsu turned to her, his eyes steady on her face with a definite, serious gaze. "I can't let this guy get away with makin' you cry." Onyx eyes shifted back to Jaedou with pure determination and a steel resolution.

"I understand." Lucy nodded, a small smile on her lips.

"How annoyin'." Jaedou muttered. Malicious energy began to rise up like fire from his body, whipping and hissing like snakes towards the dragon slayer. "Die."

Jaedou dashed forwards, his arm already moving to swing. "GRAVITY:.." He yelled swinging his arm towards the unprepared dragon slayer. "REPEL!"

The arm crashed into stone, just grazing the dragon slayer's surprised face. A crated laid in his attacks wake. Rock exploded from the ground, flying in every direction like bullets.

Jaedou wasn't holding back, his body was already coming at the dragon slayer again, hard and fast. Natsu managed to dodge, just slipping past each attack.

Lucy watched with petrifying tension. Just by the way he move, Lucy could tell Natsu was struggling. That last attack was certainly bound to cause a lot of damage at least. Lucy was simply relieved that he wasn't killed. She could tell Jaedou had made the attack to had done so. Even during the fight, Jaedou's every attack was lethal. One hit and Natsu would be killed.

Natsu leapt backwards, avoiding Jaedou's deadly attack. The dragon slayer managed to put a little more space between them. However, that didn't stop Jaedou. "GRAVITY: REVERSE!" He yelled, slamming a palm against the floor. Stray rocks began to rise in the air, floating up like in space. "GRAVITY:" There was a short second where Jaedou's eyes narrowed calculatingly on the area behind the dragon slayer. "REPEL!" Fists crashed against the stones, sending them flying like bullets. One whistled past his ear at the speed of sound. A small red line cut the tip of his air at the sharp cut of the wind.

Natsu moved on his aching feet, managing to sense out the way and gliding past the stone bullets. "Missed me." Natsu smirked.

As soon as he saw the smug smile on Jaedou's lips, his expression dropped.

"Actually, it was a bull's eye." Jaedou smiled, his eyes narrowing on the space behind him.

Dread weighed on his ribs like he was crushed under a one thousand ton buildings, as he slowly turned to look behind him.

A small, knuckle-sized stone was implanted into a small metal security pad on the far wall. Above it, he read the letters carefully. Each one was like a dagger to the gut as it slowly dawned on him. 'Start.'

The sharp screech of grinding metal pierced through the air. Stones in the walls began to shift, pushing back and disappearing into a black abyss in the wall. Thin, reflective sheets popped up out of nowhere, fitting into their places. A large, circular stone carved into the ceiling rumbled as its concrete seal cracked and crumbled to the floor. It broke free of it's hold, crashing into the ground, sending a wave of stone in its rupture. Dust and grit blasted up against Natsu's face, using his arm to guard against it. As it calmed and settle, Natsu was able to make out the cool, piercing beam of light cutting through the open gorge the great boulder left. It beamed down at an angle to a reflective stone near the roof. The light traveled, bouncing off different surface around the wall until it bee lined through the center of the room, directly... at Lucy.

All his breath was suddenly knocked out of him. All his strength was sapped out of his legs, dragging him to his knees. Onyx eyes stared in disbelief, in horror, in shock at the sight of the girl, of Lucy...with a golden spear sticking out of her chest.

Big brown orbs opened wide in shock. Her small mouth hung open in a silent scream. Red, thick liquid trickled down over her skin at a constant, threatening rate.

"LUCY!" Natsu screamed, his voice bawling out his lips like a cannon ball. "LUCY!"

"N...Natsu...?" Lucy muttered softly. Uncontrollable, small tears ran down her frozen cheeks, her face cold of any emotion other than shock.

"See, dragon slayer," Jaedou said, calmly, walking the paces to Natsu's stiff body. "This is how it always ends. Lucy is mine." His voice was cold, but calm as he raised his fist with final grace.

Rock surfed out in a wave, rippling through the air as Jeadou's body was propelled forwards. A peircing ring echoed off the walls of the room. A cloud of dust rose up, cloaking the air. "So, it weren't just one fairy playin' possum." Jaedou scoffed, landing back on his feet.

"Ice make: Sheild!" A familiar voice shouted.

Natsu's eyes jumped forward. A tall, half-naked figure stood in front of him. His hands were out at arms length, his feet evenly apart. Not to mention, the massive ice shield rising up ahead. "GRAY!" Natsu exclaimed in surprise.

Cracks skated up the ice wall, shattering in into small flakes of watered glass.

A metal black blade hung at Jaedou's thick, unguarded neck. Its handler held it with steady precious, red-scarlet hair floating in the breeze. "ERZA!"

"What the hell are you standing around for flame head?" Gray growled, his face still firmly on the enemy ahead of him.

"Quickly, go. We'll handle the situation here!" Erza added, her voice direct and easy. Or so it seemed. Natsu could sense her anxiety, her anger and frustration. Not to mention Gray's.

"But- this guy is really stro-" Natsu found his voice.

"We know that!" Gray snapped, impatiently. "There are poeple more important than that!"

People? "Lucy!" Natsu exclaimed, dragging himself to his feet. He hesistated, staring back over his shoulder. Jaedou stood casually, his eyes staring at Natsu and not them.

"NATSU! GO!" Erza belted.

He didn't want to leave them behind like that. However, he knew what he had to do. Lucy had to be his top priority. Natsu nodded, breaking off into a weak sprint to the antique.

"Don't underestimate me." Jaedou growled. Like that, Jaedou was gone, his after image flickering into thin air.

"Dammit!" Era cursed, black eyes jumping everywhere. There, in the air. Jaedou's body rocketed, flying directly towards the dragon slayer. "NATSU LOOK OUT!"

He didn't need to. Another figure raced with incredible speed. It appeared next to the dragon slayer in the instant Jaedou's fist crashed against their palm, halting the attack. Long silver hair burst backwards with the force of the blow, flicking right in front of Natsu's face.

"SILVER!" Gay exclaimed from across the room.

"Don't go killing me off just yet, junior." Silver grumbled. His hazel eyes turned to Jaedou, burning with black rage. "I ain't gonna let you past,... _comrade_."

Jaedou let out a disgruntled sigh, breaking his fist out of Silver's palm.

Erza, Gray and Silver rounded up on Jaedou, summoning all their will to fight Jaedou, while the dragon slayer got Lucy. Natsu wasn't going to let them down.

"Junior." Silver called out, over his shoulder. "I've taken down the mirrors, but that won't stop the machine. If you unite your strength with hers, you can save her."

The dragon slayer nodded, taking off into a sprint straight towards Lucy.

"Right," Silver grumbled, cracking his knuckles. "Where were we?"

"Cute." Jaedou growled irritably.

Rocks, craters and falling shrapnel covered his path. Flecks of reflective metal crumbled to the floor underneath the shattered mirrors. Silver had demolished the mirrors to dust that littered Natsu's path. Quick nimble feet wove, twisted and jumped, travelling as fast as they could. Dark eyes locked onto his target, blasting everything out of his way. Blond hair fell over her shadowed face, hanging limply from her shoulders. A constant stream of red poured over her body, pooling into a puddle beneath her feet. Gold rings lit with beautiful white characters in a language he didn't know, shifted and turned, glittering under the piercing light.

"LUCY!"

Natsu roared, closing in on her. A great cannon burning into a black abyss opened up in front of him. That wasn't going to stop him.

Fire coated Natsu's feet in blazing flames. Rock spat up from the ground as his feet exploded upwards. The dragon slayer sailed through the air, clearing the enormous gap with ease.

Feet hit the ground running, pushing his body even closer to the artifact, to Lucy.

"LUCE!" Natsu cried, his body leaping towards her. Lucy's weak head barely managed to lift itself up. Dull brown eyes peaked from behind the vail of blonde hair.

"N...Natsu?" Lucy grumbled faintly.

"Don't worry, Luce; I'll get you out of this." Natsu promised, his eyes frantically searching for a way to help her. He quickly unstrapped her arms, letting them fall weakly to her side. As he reached for the straps around her chest, legs and waist, he stopped; If he untied them, all her weight would fall onto the spear. It was useless, there was no way to get her off the golden spear without causing more damage. Small needles grew out of the sides digging deeper into Lucy's body. "Dammit!" Natsu hissed.

"Natsu," Lucy whispered. Big brown eyes looked at him with so much hope and innocence it tore his heart apart.

"HOW DO YOU STOP THIS THING?" Natsu shouted in frustration.

"You can't stop it...not until...all my magic...is drained." Lucy breathed weakly.

Sharp teeth bit down in frustration. Despairing jet eyes watched the river of red spill over stomach.

"Lucy, I'm so sorry." Natsu cried, falling weakly to his knees. "I'm so useless. I don't know how to help you!" A fist crashed hard to the ground. Pink hair cast a shadow over his dark face.

"Natsu," Lucy breathed weakly. It hurt her so bad watching Natsu like that. He looked so defenseless, so fragile, so vulnerable. It was a side she hadn't seen, but a weakness she was always knew was within him. Natsu as he was then, was painful to see. Her heart hurt so bad, despite all the feeling in her body had long grown numb. Even the blood pouring out her chest looked animated and fake.

It had been like this before. Most of her childhood was spent with a spear through her chest, sapping the energy out of her. Except, there was something different about it this time. More and more energy was pulled out of her then it had before.

Maybe it was because her magic had matured and grown since then. She had definately grown from being with Fairy Tail.

Lucy's eyes gazed down on his soft pink hair rustling in the draft. The boy at her feet was the same boy she'd met that first day. But, he was also different from before. Lucy wasn't the only one to have grown.

"Natsu, it's okay," Lucy whispered, catching the slayer's attention.

"No. It's not okay Lucy!" Natsu growled back, turning up his face, brimming with frustration and. "I don't...I can't...I won't let you leave me!"

Natsu's fist crashed into the gold metal hanging besides Lucy's face. A resounding ring of metal echoed through the room. Lucy stared at him in surprise as she watched the small tears roll down his cheeks. Strength drained out of his arm, as it folded limply, pressing against the antique's gold surface. Natsu's body teetered forward, leaning on his folded arm. He came so close to hers, dropping his head softly onto her shoulder. Natsu took in a deep, shaking breath, squeezing his eyes tightly shut. Lucy's eyes watched his face, her heart surprisingly steady and calm. Slowly, the dragon slayer's dark eyes flickered open.

Her breath almost sweapt out of her as she felt the burst of emotion hidden in his gaze. It was so soft, weak and open. It was like she was looking straight into his heart, seeing the conflicting emotions of sorrow, anger and fear. "Lucy, I've already lost enough people close to me," Natsu whispered. Sound of battle behind them faded out, capturing their moment between them as if there was nothing else in the world but them.

"And, I'm not ready to lose you, I never will be. We're nakama right?" More slow tears trickled down is cheek, dripping onto her skin. Despite the numbing in her body, Lucy felt the heavy weight of the emotions locked in each tear that ran over her body. "I'll get you out of here, Luce. I promise."

All her feelings of calm acceptance of her fate rushed away from her. The burning urge to live exploded across her body, coursing through her every vein. Hot burning tears poured from her eyes, racing down her face.

"Okay," Lucy choked, fighting back the tears.

A small smile twitched the dragon slayer's lips as relief flooded over his face. His head dropped weakly onto her neck, taking a long deep breath. "Thank you,"

The urge to touch his face, to wipe away the tears down his face surfaced within her. It was a selfish wish but, she wanted to cast aside the tears that showed his weakness, and see the strong, fearless face that was Natsu's. That weak side, he will only show to her. It would be there little secret.

Suddenly, Lucy was shocked to find her own arm, lifting up. It was still numb, but it was moving as she wished. That desire summoned the strongest miracle it could. Her pale, cold fingers rested against the burning heat of the dragon slayer's face. His warmth peirced her numb shell, radiating through her fingers and across her body, making her feel safe and relieved. A shaky thumb grazed over his damp cheeks, brushing away the last falling tears. Dark onyx eyes locked with Lucy's, transferring so much emotion in just one gaze.


	17. United Power

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Natsu struggles to find a way to save Lucy, meanwhile Lucy discovers something a hidden message from Silver. What's the message and what does it mean?

A loud crash behind them startled them both, breaking their longing gaze. Natsu's body reacted instantly, whipping around for the source. Big brown eyes stared into the distance after his. Unfortunately, all she could see was moving, hazey blurs. The toll of the artifact and blood loss was pulling her senses slowly from her. Yet, Natsu's face filled with worry and seriousness and hope, was as sharp as a diamond. Lucy's eyes followed the soft curves of his gentle features, following down his neck and shoulders. Even the little black line on the back of Natsu's neck was as clear as black crystals. What? A black line? It looked like a small tattoo inked into his skin. The only thing was, Natsu didn't have any tattoo.

"Natsu!" Lucy exclaimed, making the dragon slayer jump. There was something inside of her growing at a enormous rates, making butterflies flutter in her cool stomach. It also made her feel sick in the back of her throat.

Instantly, Natsu whirled round to her, poised for an attack. When he saw Lucy's face, his expression softened to a cruious bafflement. "Natsu, turn around!" Lucy commanded.

"W- What? Why-" Natsu bickered in surprise and confusion.

"Just show me the back of your neck!" Lucy demanded sharply. Brown eyes burned with intense intregue and excitement as Natsu cautiously turned around. The dragon slayer losened his scarf, revealling the rest of the covered up mark.

It was a jet black circle with what looked like a smoothly curved fork through the middle. The three spokes sliced through the center of the circle, and the connotated handle of the fork reaching a little higher up his neck, almost touching his hair line. But Lucy wouldn't fall for such a measly trick. She put her clear short-sight to work. As she stared hard at the tattoo, the soft silver lines engraved in the back of the dragon slayers skin became visable. It was a magic circle. And in the middle was the shape of nothing else than a silver fox. But when did he-? From when Natsu fell into the trap! Silver had been the one to catch the dragon slayer, and by the fabric at the back of his neck. It would have been simple to place a circle there while everyone was distracted.

What was it? What did the circle do? "Natsu, did Silver say anything to you?" Lucy urged as Natsu turned back to face her. By his lack of expression, Lucy knew he was trying to catch up with her speed of thought, but was miserably stumbling behind. Sadly, there was no time to explain.

"Yeah, something about uniting strengths to save you." Natsu reported.

So that's what it was. She understood. She knew what the cirlce did. A small smile tweaked on her lips. Lucy closed her heavy eyes, releasing a deep sigh. Using whatever strength she had, she channeled them into her arms. "I sure hope Silver knows what he's doing." She sighed again. When her eyes opened, the focused wholey on the pink-haired dragon slayer.

"Luce, what's go-" Natsu began.

Before he could finish, Lucy's arms thrusted out to him, her hands grabbed a fist full of the dragon slayer's scarf and pulled. Natsu's body stumbled forward, his face falling near Lucy's face. He went to yell in surprise, but he was cut off before he could make a sound. A pair of soft, gentle lips pressed against his, as Lucy's fingers slipped around his neck.

Overwhelming emotions he hadn't even known were there burst up from inside of him. They rushed through his body like a giant wave with longing, warmth and something else. Something far more amazing, rising from somewhere in the depth of his heart. Natsu couldn't control his body anymore. His arms fell limply to his side, bubbling with a weird fuzzy feeling. His mind blanked. All he could hear, smell, feel, was Lucy.

Suddenly, a second force slammed into his body like a tsunami, bursting into him so strong, his soul was almost ripped free of his body. It was incredible. It was beautiful and exciting rushing in through his veins. It felt alive, special and warm. There was something so complete about it, it felt like it was the purest of any kind of magic.

A white blinding light burst from his body. The feeling slipped into every inch of his body, filling it with so much strength it was like he could crush the world. It was so much unimaginable power. He had never felt like it before. The energy was overflowing from him. It was like it was trying to fill up a bottle too small for its contents. It felt so magical...Magical? Natsu felt a strange sense of familiarity that reminded him weakly of Lucy.

It was Lucy's magic. Natsu felt it pouring in from her touch, crashing into the back of his neck and radiating through his body. So that's what Lucy's magic was like. Strong, beautiful, amazing. Natsu wouldn't have pictured it any other way. Natsu, wrapped in pure ecstacy, hear a soft voice whispering to him. One that sounded like Lucy's. Natsu listened intensly, focusing on her words, letting them slowly sink into his mind.

It all came to a stop when Lucy's limp arms slipped from his neck. Her lips still pushed against him, willing her magic into him. So much magic being lost was making her weak. Natsu took a step back, breaking the kiss, despite his desire to let it linger. Lucy made a weak moan of protest, her drowsey eyes beginning him to come back, but her voice unwilling to act for it. Natsu still felt the overwhelming strength of his body, staggering on his feet as he tried to control it. He only just managed to keep it inside of him with effort. It felt like he could burst any second, buzzing with so much excited energy.

He was faintly aware of the shouts and angered yells from behind him, and the intense battling. But he wasn't too focused. His dark eyes was more interested in the artifact.

The artifact's white-glowing characters faded like a dying flame. It rummbled slightly, coming to a stop. The spear peircing Lucy's chest, folded in it's fish hood needles and pulled out through her back, making her gasp in pain.

Natsu acted instantly moving to reach her. His body was by her side in a flash. He just thought to be beside her and he appeared right there. He had moved so fast even his eyes and mind couldn't process it. Natsu didn't care, he moved his hands with steady speed, unstrapping her body and lifting her from the golden artifact. Her weak body fell limply into his arms.

Natsu urged his body to slow down, trying to move at a snail's pace, but that was still the speed of a normal person's run. Carefully, the dragon slayer crouched down to his knees, slowly laying her down against the back of an upturned slab of concrete. Her shirt was still stained with ruby red ink. The bleeding had stopped, and the dragon slayer brushed a hand down to side of her cheek, stroking away a stray blonde strand behind her ear. "I got it, Luce." Natsu promised, giving her a warm gentle smile.

As Natsu rose from his knees, his body slowly turned in the opposite direction. Sandaled feet carried him slowly across the room. Silver, Gray and Erza panted with deep heavy breaths, clearly exhausted. They had been pushed to their limits fighting Jaedou, who looked only faintly tired. Jaedou's expression looked absolutely furious, staring at the dragon slayer, closing the distance between them, the artifact and Lucy's distant body. "YOU!" Jaedou hissed. "What have you done?!"

Silver let out a small chuckle behind him, catching Jaedou's attention. "Didn't have much confidence in you, Junior. But, I figured Lucy would catch on."

"Of course it was you, you and your little dirty tricks Silver!" Jaedou snapped, barking at the weak Silver haired man. Jaedou's body flickered away in a second, rushing straight towards the unsuspecting Silver. There wasn't enough time for him to block the attack as it was sent shooting through the air like a knife.

"SILVER!" Gray and Erza shouted in surprise. There still wasn't enough time for any of them to get there. That attack would finish of the man for good. Jaedou's fist broke the air, crashing straight for Silver's face.

Suddenly, Jaeodu's body was blown backwards, rolling across the ground. "What the-" Silver groaned, looking up. His eyes set on the air in front of him. The air rippled like a water's surface, distorting the shapes of the distance ahead of him. It had a faint white glow. The white air sheilded ahead of him. Where Jaedou's fist had collied, a faint white magical circle was fading from the air. At the same time, the sheild rippled and began to disperse.

Jaedou growled in fustration, picking himself up to his feet.

"I can't have you hurting my friends." A low, harsh voice growled a few feet behind the fallen criminal. Jaedou spun on his heels, turning to the source of the voice. Natsu stood quite a distance away from him. Pink hair fell over his face, shadowing his dark eyes. Between them, the big black void of a crator opened up at the edges of their feet, seperating them by a wide distance.

"Dragon Slayer." Jaedou hissed, his eyes narrowing with irate anger on the boy. "That was you. Hmph. Ya' seem to have taken somethin' that don't belong to ya'." His sarcastic, sharp voice form before rose back into his voice, as his face looked down on the dragon slayer.

"Hah." Natsu chuckled with a rebellious smile, slowly lifting his head. As the shadow over his eyes drew back, a crystal white light glowed through. Jaedou hissed with fustration, as Gray and Erza let out startled gasps. "It wasn't yours to begin with." Natsu offered a grin, looking at the man with pure white rebellious eyes.

"HOW DARE YO-" Jaedou roared, but Natsu cut in instantly.

"I made a promise to Lucy." Natsu spoke with a calm, patient tone. Jaedou's angered face relaxed as he let out a small, sharp laugh.

"A promise?" Jaedou mocked. "And what promise would that be?"

"I will..." Natsu recited, thinking back to Lucy's soft voice echoing in her mind. "protect my friends, and defeat you."

"Oh you will, will you?" Jaedou's mocking tone dropped back into a cold, dark growl. "I'll have to kill you first dragon slayer... and then I'll kill her." Jaedou crouched down like lightening, about to break into a leap.

A heavy, sharp blow caught his chest as a fist slammed into him. Natsu was already there. The dragon slayer had moved at light speed without even a sound. Jaedou choked, coughing up a mouthful of blood. As time caught up to his body, the man was sent at sound-breaking speed into the far wall, bursting through several feet of concrete into the following room.

"Natsu!" Erza gasped in shock. Beautiful, white lines snaked down over his body, wrapping him in ivory tattoos.

"Aha, hey guys." Natsu smiled, offering his care-free grin.

"What the happened to you, Natsu?" Erza marched over, as Gray stood staring at his smile in profound shock. Obviously suprised at how he could be smiling after something like that had happened.

"Aha, well-" Natsu, chuckled.

"Stop laughing!" Gray snapped, coming back to life. He marched straight towards the dragon slayer, grabbing him by the collar and shaking him violently. "What the hell happened? All of a sudden we see this bright light, and then that guy goes bezerk and you got these white tattoos and move so fast we can't keep track of you!"

"Natsu's body is now full of Lucy's magic." Silver interupted, moving over so casually it was like he wasn't even even hurt. Although his body was beaten, cut and bruises, as a sign of what actually happened.

"Lucy's magic?" Gray repeated, with confusion written all over his face. Silver gave him a gentle, soft expression.

"This," Silver pulled free the dragon slayer out of Gray's hands, holding him by the collar so his feet couldn't touch the floor. The silver fox twisted him in his grip, showing the back of his neck to the reequip and ice mage. A glowing silver circle stamped the back of his neck. The lines of the tattoos curling around his body all seemed to be pin pointed from there, reaching over his body like vines. "It took Lucy's magic and gave it to Natsu."

"I've never heard of anything like it!" Erza exclaimed examining it. Silver opened his mouth to speak again, but a sudden explosion of rocks cut him off.

Jaedou burst through a whole in the wall. His face was on fire with blind rage. His hands clenched so tightly into fists by his sides, his palms bled where his nails dug in.

Natsu's face became serious again, his eyes falling onto the man. "We'll have to leave the explination for later, for now, catch this." Natsu called over his shoulder, facing towards Jaedou. A small blue gem locked in entwined silver traveled through the air. Issac effortlessly snatched it out of the air.

As soon as he touched the silver chain, he felt a heavy pulse radiate down his arm. Pale grey eyes narrowed on the little locket, noticing the faint buzz coursing over his fingertips.

"What's that?" Gray husseled over, his eyes running over the small necklace in Silver's big paw.

"Something of Lucy's, I presume." Silver muttered, rubbing the chain between his fingers. After a second of thought, he turned back to the dragon slayer, slowly crouching lower to the ground. "What's your order, Junior?" He called, his eyes sharpening onto the dragon slayer's rigid, silver coated back, shown through the fractions of bare skin.

"This place is going to collapse. Get Lucy, and Happy out. And then yourselves." Natsu called back over his shoulder, onyx eyes dead ahead. Jaedou a couple meters ahead of him was lowering into his own battle stance with a ravenous lust for blood written across his face.

"And you?" Gray growled, feeling a horrible sense of dread at the pit of his stomach. Natsu was an idiot after all.

"You're not worried are you, twinkle toes?" Natsu's voice called back with mocking intent. Gray couldn't help but respond, instantly irritated.

"Like hell I am, matchstick." Gray replied reflectively.

"Then it's fine." Natsu's voice softened to an almost gentle tone; rare for such a noisey person. There was almost a sadness filling the air between them. Gray, deep down inside, wished Natsu wouldn't do anything stupid. But the overall fact was, that Natsu was an idiot. Gray just hoped he wouldn't act like one. Not right then.

"Then we're going." Erza commanded, turning and walking away. Gray and Silver both turned to see the red head walk away. At the same time, a burst of air rushed behind them, pushing them forward a step to gain balance. As both boys turned back, they saw an empty space, and another hole cracked into the wall. He was gone.

"Shall we?" Silver sighed, turning back to the two. He lifted up his hand, letting the gem of the necklace swing from his grasp.

"What do you mean?" Erza inquired, examining the necklace supiciously. Silver let out a groan, pitching the necklace at Gray who caught it easily. Gray almost dropped it in surprise. A strange pulse beat inside the necklace like a heart, sending waves of vibrations into his body.

"What is it Gray?" Erza moved forward, catching the shocked ice mage by the gaze.

"The necklace, it's like it's...it's...err." Gray struggled for words, staring dubiously at the necklace. Silver found himself groaning and sighing constantly with the company he was in. Army boots marched over to Gray, catching his fist in his. "HEY!" Gray yeld in surprise. "WHAT ARE YO-"

White line poured through their fingers as white lines began to whirl and slither across their arms and skin. Issac whipped out an arm, catching and dragging Erza's gauntlet to fit ontop of theirs. Erza, unlike Gray, was too dumbfounded to struggle when Silver caught her. The ice mage's dark eyes blankly stared at the white lines trasing across his skin. They crawled highed and higher up his arm, spilling over his neck and down his body.

A few moments later, there wasn't even an inch of his body covered in the viens of ashen light on his skin. There was a weightless, living feeling to the light coarsing through his body inside and out. It was inexplicably beautiful. "This...It's Lucy's magic isn't it?" Erza notioned, examining her own tattoos with slight marval.

"Yes, but, as junior said, there's no time to explain, this building will come down any moment." As soon as Silver said it, a large tremour shook the ground. Stone in the cieling and walls shifted loose and began to fall and collapse from the ceiling. Huge chunks of rocks were falling and crashing into the stone, crushing the ground beneath it. "And junior's fighting that guy aswell. He'll be alright so let's do as he asked, and get Lucy and your cat out before we're all crushed."

There was no time for anymore words, they all burst with impossible speed, darting in and out of falling boulders.

  


 


	18. Aftermath

 

Natsu felt his body ache with exhaustion as he dropped down to his knee. Small shoulder collections of dust and debris scattered onto the floor. The adjoining room he'd managed to push Jaedou into was already showing signs of crumbling. The building wasn't going to hold much longer. He hoped Gray, Erza and Silver were having better luck than him.

Jaedou showed similar signs of fatigue, but still managed to make his body stand and move. There was a little more speed and edge in his step than before. Finally, it seemed he had stepped up to the challenge and fought Natsu seriously.

However, Natsu had to end the fight soon. Jaedou was giving it all he's got, and so was Natsu. But the fight wasn't going much further. With Lucy's magic running through his veins, Natsu had the extra step over Jaedou in all aspects; speed, agility, stamina, strength, and such. The only problem was, he could feel Lucy's magic in his body fading. It was only faint and only a little each minute, but if there was any chance for Jaedou to win over Natsu, it wouldn't end well. As Lucy's power was fading, he also managed to get an insight on his body. The power that Lucy gave him was pushing his body way past his limits. The longer he used it, the more damage he was doing to himself. Natsu wasn't sure how far his injuries would be after it, but he certainly didn't want to increase them.

Natsu pulled his wits together, rising to his feet. A little more determination fitted into his cold, hard irises, staring heartlessly at his opponent. Jaedou's eyes were the complete opposite; they we're hungry and blood thirsty, practically beckoning how he wished to tear the dragon slayer apart bit by bit. Natsu had set off a bomb inside Jaedou that was wrecking havoc inside of his mind at that time. Crazy or not, Jaedou had to be defeated.

Like a sounding gun to a race, Natsu's thoughts ended with a bang as Jaedou appeared in the air in front of him, propelling a fist in his direction. "GRAVITY:" He called. Natsu moved to block the attack, raising his arm. A second later he remembered the last time, Jaedou had managed to catch him. Jaedou's bare fingers snaked out, flattening his palm. "CENTER!" They swooped past, aiming for his chest. Luckily, Natsu realised early and managed to move just out the way for Jaedou's attack to miss. The man hissed with a grin on his face, lashing out like a snake at a moment's notice. Jaedou wasn't planning on stopping anytime soon, his body was like a beast's, hunting for its pray. It was merciless.

Natsu moved like light, turning in the air and drilling a kick through the air towards the man's pale white complexion. Natsu speed outweighed Jaedou's and his body went flying directly into the wall. He broke straight through, falling into an empty room besides the room Natsu was in.

Suddenly, a tremor shook the ground at the dragon slayer's feet, making him unsteady. As the ground steadied, Jaedou leapt out of nowhere, catching Natsu by surprise. The dragon slayer barely had enough time to react and block the enormous chunk of wall shooting his way like a meteorite falling to Earthland. Natsu swung, forcing all his power into his fist as it collided against the rock's surface. His power channeled into his body.

As it heard his call, beautiful white flames burst up around his body like a god's flame. "IRON FIST OF THE WHITE FIRE DRAGON!" Natsu roared, burying his fist into the rock face. There hadn't been any time to dodge. So he broke it. Shattered pieces of rock burst out in any direction, flying into walls, floor and the ceiling.

Out of those falling pieces, Jaedou appeared, but Natsu was expecting it. The dragon slayer seized a large chunk of rock from the smashed meteor, and launched it into the mid-air man, sending him up into the ceiling. Jaedou wasn't able to break through to the floor above, and came collapsing down to the floor as the rock fell. Natsu took up more pieces of rock, spit-firing them at the fallen opponent. Jaedou rolled onto his stomach, casting a fist sized rock from his hand to the other side of the room. "GRAVITY: CENTER!" Jaedou yelled.

Instantly, the small rocks changed direction like a missile, and collided, and merged with the small stone. Natsu felt the weak tug of the stone's new gravitational pull, but was able to ignore it. Jaedou couldn't cause an effect on the gravity of big objects, and could only effect smaller ones. Which was lucky for him he supposed.

Jaedou let out a long groan, shakily pulling himself to his hands and knees. "Ya' think I'd let _you_ stop me? Like this? ME!" The man's voice lifted and fell back down into a mutter. "YOU- YOU THINK YOU CAN STOP ME. YOU AND THAT LITTLE-"

"There's one more thing Lucy asked of me. It's a gift for you. From her." Natsu cut in, not letting him get any closer to saying anything bad about Lucy. The dragon slayer didn't even want to say her name in front of him.

"A gift, for me?" Jaedou cooed, falling back onto his feet. "How sweet of her."

Quietly, Natsu closed his eyes, relaxing calmly. The magic in his body began to jitter and tingle, as the dragon slayer took a small breath in. "Open the heavens, survey the heavens..." Natsu began to chant. His thoughts slowed into a mindless blank. White covered his eyes, rendering him blind. The last things he heard as his vision faded into a silent world of enveloping magic, was the faint mumbles of Jaedou's bezerk yelling. Then, Natsu fell into a new world, letting his body relax. Then the magic inside of him took over, pouring from him. For a moment, Natsu felt the faint scent of strawberry and vanilla dispersing into the magic that moved like it was alive, transforming into some great power.

"All the stars far and wide..." His voice echoed in his ears. In his little world, Natsu could hear Lucy speaking with him, like she was beside him, willing the magic to work and end it all.

"Show me thy appearance..."

"With such shine..."

"O tetrabiblos..."

"I am the ruler of the stars..."

"Aspect became complete..."

"Open thy malevolent gate..."

"O 88 stars of the heaven..."

In the last seconds, when the magic reached it's peak, Natsu felt a burst of energy explode throughout his body. Eyelids burst open, lighting up wherever he looked like torchlight. "SHINE!" Natsu's voice belted, as thousands of stars wrapped around him exploded like a supernova. Ashen, blinding light burst out like a birds wings, encompassing everything, even Jaedou's blank face, into a white wonder world of pure magic.

Falling rocks, caving-in walls and crumbling cells shook and fell as the hallways were collapsing around them. The whole place was shaking and shaking, rocking the unsteady mages as they stumbled desperately through the ending hallways. Feet moved, swerved and stumbled to avoid the falling obstacles dropping like flies around them. Happy's small, quiet body was held in Erza's grasp, while Lucy, bloody and bruised, laid in Gray's arms, fading in and out of consciousness. Silver lead the way with a torch, quickly reciting which turning to take for the fastest route out of there.

"Where the hell is Natsu?" Gray snapped, dodging a wave of bricks that crumbled from the wall beside him. "This place will come down any second now!"

Erza quickly glanced over her shoulder, looking down into the dark end of the corridor, which had pretty much almost caved in. "I don't know." Erza shook her head, with a seriously worried look. She decided to change focus. "For now, let's get Lucy and Happy out of here, like Natsu said." Gray gave her a short glance to the side, nursing his own insecure expression, and nodded, quickening his pace.

"The cells!" Issac called ahead, hurrying the mages even more. A small wave of relief swept over Gray as his eyes picked up the start of the iron gates ahead.

As Gray and Erza caught pace, they saw the familiar metal bar cells. Some had already fallen in behind the upstanding iron bars, others looked a little unfazed. More importantly, it meant they were nearing the exit.

Just as they found their hope in escape, a horrible tremor sent them tumbling over their feet. Everyone crashed against the floor, hitting the ground hard. They couldn't even get up before the ceiling weakened and collapsed in, blocking out any freedom.

Gray laid, fading out of consciousness, watching the darkness sweep around him as the light slowly died. His allies, friends, and Silver, laid strewn around him. The white wonder world of peace beckoned him, but the ice mage couldn't seem to take his eyes off the darkening world. Was this the end? Were they going to die? For him, to fail an idiot like Natsu's request, only made him a bigger idiot. No matter what, he couldn't let Natsu make a fool of him.

Strength, of what little there was in his body, drew towards his arms and legs. It wasn't enough. Still, Gray had to push forward. Desperately, he pushed and pushed his muscles, willing them to make him stand. Slowly, his body began to push against the stone floor, lifting his shaking body. "I...I can't...let that idiot..." Gray growled. "...down." But his body couldn't make it any further. All his effort still swept from him, falling against the floor. That didn't mean he would give up. Even with the quakes under his feet, even with the falling stones, he would use all his will to get his friends out. Lucy's magic that had given them strength and speed was gone, numbing his aching body.

He tried again, regathering the even smaller collection of strength from his body. It was no use. He pushed and pushed his body until not even his iron will could lift it. "Damn it!" Gray gasped. Why? Why couldn't he get up? Was his will too weak? No. His body couldn't betray him, not at the moment, not when he needed it most. "I will...save...you!" He growled. An unknown strength tore his body apart, as it gave it the life to move.

It was slow, but it was moving. His body dragged itself slowly across the ground. Finally, he closed in on the unconscious blonde, her brown eyes flickering open and falling back closed. Lucy was having her own battle with her consciousness. Though, Gray was sure he was loosing to the ache in his mind, his body still moved on.

A sound screeching roar of stone above him, alerted his senses. Large tumbling rocks of concrete, teetered over the edge of a black whole in the ceiling above. It was favoring to fall. And it was right above Lucy. Gray's body paniced, feeling the roar of all his life energy pounding through his veins. It was probably adrenalin, but he didn't care. Not at that moment. His mind became one tracked. Protect Lucy.

As the rock fell, Gray's body moved without command, following its instincts.

Suddenly, a tearing hot pain burst over Gray's back like he had been slapped with lava. His body shook, hovering over Lucy's as the rock tumbled from his back. Thank god. He had got there in time to protect Lucy. He wouldn't loose to that hot-headed idi-

Darkness swept over him like a tidal wave, sweeping him away almost instantly. In his last fleeting moments of consciousness, he felt the strength of a strong arm catch his caving body. A beautiful white light burst through the black for a second. Then he was dragged down for the last time.

Natsu laid against the torn up stone beneath his back, watching the ceiling crumble around him from his motionless body. He couldn't move, not an inch or lift a finger, yet his body still stood tall like a statue. There was but a little light from the few shards of Natsu's flames from earlier. They glowed with a beautiful white fluorescence. For being in a falling building, unable to move, the dragon slayer was surprisingly calm. Maybe it was from the remains of magic tingling through his veins that wrapped him in so much energy that reminded him of Lucy. For some reason, she was always able to calm him. Whether sleeping on her lap on the train, or in the darkness of night, she was always calming him.

Jaedou let out a harsh series of laughs, which ended in weak chokes. It cut the dragon slayer from his thoughts like a knive. _'So that guy wasn't dead or even unconscious?'_ Natsu thought, feeling slightly disappointing. From what Natsu could tell, Jaedou didn't look like he could get up anymore. To be safe, the dragon kept a weary eye on him, but didn't tell him to shut up. "You're definitely his son, aren't ya?" Jaedou chuckled. "Same pink hair to boot."

"You keep calling me _'his'_ son." Natsu recalled, using the small time he had before seeing if there was a possibility of escaping. Jaedou was going to be crush there anyway, he might as well know.

"It's because you are." Jaedou mused softly with a light peppy voice for a probably-dying person. "Like father like son."

"Igneel doesn't have pink hair." Natsu commented, trying to picture Igneel in his mind. It seemed to escape his mind like a fleeting bird. At that moment, Natsu noticed the crushing pressure of the darkness sweeping in around him. Sound, sight, smell and his other senses began to fade from him. It was more like he was fading, than them. He was the one fading out of consciousness as exhaustion began to set in.

"That dragon isn't your father," Jaedou laughed. "Your real father..."

It sounded like he was saying something really important, but sound completely escaped the dragon slayer. The exhaustion caught hold of him tightly, rushing him out of his world.

The last thing he felt, was strong hands wrapped around his shoulder with gentle power. "Well done, Natsu." A strange voice whispered. Darkness didn't give him leniency any longer as he was lost into the black.

A soft, soothing breeze brushed through her hair. The warm familiar scent of fresh bread floated in the air. Soft cotton fabric rested over her skin. She felt as light like a feather, but at the same time, she felt so drained. White light cut into her pupils as her brown eyes flickered open. She winced at the piercing brightness as her eyes began to adjust. Brown oak rafters held the ceiling up above her. Cobwebs and dust hid in the cracks of the ceiling. As she moved down, she noticed the open window; curtains fluttered gently in the breeze carrying the wave of chatter of the busy streets. Several white beds lined up beside her, some were sectioned off with separating curtains, the rest were empty and well-made. It was strange...it felt familiar to her. Where was she? Why was she there? Where was Natsu? Natsu... NATSU!

Memories flooded her consciousness; The underground hideout, Jeadou, Natsu...and that magic. She gave it to Natsu, but then... She couldn't remember anymore! What happened after that? What happened to everyone else? What about Natsu? Was he okay?

Energy surged up in her heart that was doing flips in her chest. She thrusted her body straight up, dragging back the curtains. A dizzying blood rush temporarily caught her as she stumbled to her feet. She reached out for the nearest curtain, gathering up the material in her fist. But just as she was about to pull it back, another hand caught her wrist. "I see you're alright." A sly, deep voice chuckled.

"SILVER!" Lucy squawked leaping out of her skin.

"You're supposed to say _'Good Morning'_." He grumbled irritably. Lucy freed her wrist from his and held it close to her chest.

Lucy ignored him, her eyes moving everywhere. "Where are we?" She demanded. "What happened? Where's Natsu and everyone?"

"Is that pink boy all you think about?" Silver sighed, catching her bicep and leading her back to her bed. He sat her down despite her struggling, set his hands on her shoulder and faced her with his murky silver eyes. "The building begun to collapse. We managed to get you all out. You are in your guild's infirmary." Silver explained simply.

" _'you all?'_ Then Natsu's okay as well?" Lucy lit up. One of her last memories was separating from Natsu. Except, while she was sleeping, she had a dream. Her and Natsu were together, chanting a spell, but the dream was fading fast and it was already too hazy to remember any more.

"Yes. Everyone's safe." Silver reassured her, and Lucy let out a deep sigh of relief. "Well...safe enough." He added after a thought.

"What do you mean by that?" Lucy asked suspiciously.

"Well, let's just say that they're alive, okay?" Silver smiled.

"I want to see them." Lucy pushed herself back up, trying to shove Silver out of her way. Another dizziness swept over her again, knocking her off balance. She felt sick and her stomach pounded heavily. Issac twisted and settled her back onto the bed. Why did her stomach hurt so bad? Oh...that was right she was stabbed. Lucy ran a hand over her stomach...except there was nothing. Quickly, she lifted her shirt to reveal a smooth, unscarred stomach. Not even a scratch. "What the-? There's nothing there! I was stabbed! There's got to be something there! But-"

"It was your magic." Silver interuppted. Lucy gave him a curious stare. "I might as well tell you." He shrugged, letting his broad, all-muscle body relax on the edge of the bed. Dirt ice eyes fell onto her with his complete attention. Brown eyes spun onto him, burning with curious intent. "Your magic Lucy, is different from that of a normal person's."

"In what way?" Lucy asked. Memories of the bright white light bursting from her body twisted around in her thoughts.

"Multiple. It is a superior magic. There isn't much I can tell you now, but it was the magic that healed you, and saved your friends... and me."

"How?" Lucy pushed, hungry to know more.

"If only there was time, little Lucy." Silver sighed, looking tired. She hadn't noticed it until now, but very, very faint lines coarsed down over his skin like twirling tattoos crawling up to his neck. "This is where it ends for us, sadly."

"End? What do you mean?" Lucy questioned. Something like a pindrop echoed in an empty abyss of her heart, making it sink a little.

"Jeadou was only able to get to you because of a mistake by me and my allies. It's time to rectify that mistake, restore everything to how it was." Silver explained, his gaze slipped from hers down to his hands where he flipped a pocket knife out and in.

"'Rectify that mistake'. 'Restore everthing to how it was'?" Lucy repeated hollowly, feeling a sick sensation of dread rise in her stomach as it slowly dawned on her. She could barely find her voice "You're going to...get rid of my memories?"

"Not just your's; your friends', your guilds', anyone who had ties to this case."

Lucy burst. "WHAT DO YOU MEAN?" She screamed, shocking Issac so much he involuntarily turned to face her. A bright red flush burned her skin. Brown eyes boiled with fury. And tears washed down her cheeks. "YOU'RE JUST GOING TO TAKE MY MEMORIES FROM ME! AFTER EVERYTHING THAT'S HAPPENED! AFTER EVERYTHING I'VE BEEN THROUGH!"

"That's precisely why I'm doing this!" Silver snapped back. "Calm down!" He tried to reach forward but Lucy slapped his hand away.

"NO YOU LISTEN! YOU HAVE NO RIGHT TO TAKE MY MEMORIES FROM ME! NOT AGAIN! NOT FROM MY FRIENDS! YOU CAN'T JUST COVER THIS UP!"

"We can." A second voice cut in. Lucy whirled, her eyes falling on a man dressed in a long white cloak, a black cross running over the center and back. The hood was up and hid his face, but it couldn't hide his presence. Lucy felt it, and it was huge. Who ever her was, he was important, and even Silver seemed to hesitate to speak.

"One, she just-" Silver hesitantly intervened.

"I know." He replied back coldly. The atmosphere became extremely heavy and extremely tense. "Lucy Heartfilia, we cannot allow you to live with any knowledge of this; not Jeadou, or your magic. Nothing. There are spells that can steal memories, so it's best for you and the world if we take those memories from you."

"For the best?" Lucy sneered back. "You mean it's convenient for you. I won't let you take them."

"Lucy," Silver interupted. "Your guildmates memories have already been erased-"

"YOU DID WHAT? WHEN DID YOU MANAGE TO SNEAK AROUND AND DO THAT!" She screeched.

"When you were fighting with Jeadou, but-"

Lucy ignored him, her feet whirling, her eyes snapping onto the cloaked figure. "Good or bad you can't change what's happened to me. I won't go back to who I was." Lucy growled, her fists clenching at her sides, her eyes levelling at him. Anger had risen so high in her chest, she was afraid she was going to try cause some serious damage.

"No. It's true we won't be able to revert everything. Your body and mind has experienced everything and that will always stay with you. But this is still the right thing to do." He continued. He turned his head towards the other side of the room and suddenly there were four others. Each had their own black and white cloak. Their height and build was different; one had long flowing hair that was tied with little ribbons all the way down. Another had a necklace hanging out of his clock with an odd wooden shape at the end of the chain; It looked a lizard, a chameleon maybe? Two more were also approaching from behind them. They moved effortlessly like they were floating down the isle of beds straight for her. One moment they were several feet away from her, the next, they were right next to her. The one with the long hair stopped in front of her besides the one with the wooden necklace. The other two reached straight for Lucy, twisting and pinning her arms behind her back.

"HEY WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING LET GO OF ME!" Lucy screeched thrashing her body frantically to break free, but couldn't break their grip by an inch.

The one with the wooden necklace slowly reached his big, tanned hands up towards his hood and drew the fabric back. Soft brown hair fell around the ages of his face. Deep blue eyes were like a cool oceanic sea. Tanned skin, more beautiful than anyone else's, glowed in the sunlight. He looked like someone she knew; Ran, another beautiful man, she knew well. For a second Lucy felt she might be mesmerized, but the rage kicked back in too quickly. Her body fought to be free, she refused to have her memories forcibly taken from her. She couldn't. She didn't want to forget. "I WON'T LET YOU TAKE THEM!" Lucy screamed. Her heart pounded in her chest. Her mouth was dry from screaming. Panic pushed her body into a desperate frenzy. "NO! GET AWAY FROM ME! " She shouted as he approached closer. "NO GO AWAY!"

A figure in the corner shadow flinched, his only visible mouth turning grim. "GET OFF ME! LET GO! NATSU!" Lucy screamed, kicking and fighting free of their strong grips. "I CAN'T FORGET! NOT WHEN I FINALLY REALISED!"

"It's no use; Just do it before she uses her magic." A voice, sounding shockingly similar to the dragon slayer's spoke, except it was a lot deeper. Lucy's darted around, desperately looking for him. But, he wasn't there. What she saw was not her dragon slayer. Her eyes lead her to the man in the corner she had noticed before. Strangly, she couldn't take her eyes off him. Even as her body faught and stuggled the grip of the people around her as they pinned her body down against the couch, her mind's attention seemed stuck on him.

One of the people grabbed Lucy's chin and turned it upwards, pointing directly at the beautiful man. He closed in on her, his eyes locking onto her as a hand slid over her eyes and forehead. "Mind Magic: Forget." He whispered.

Lucy wanted to pull away but felt somekind of resistance no matter how hard she tried. Sleep dug its claws in, trying to pull her back. Lucy knew if she lost against it, she would loose those precious memories. When she next wakes up, everything will be gone. Everthing she realised, she won't know. "I ONLY JUST REALISED!" Lucy tried to scream but felt her voice slowly dying. "That I...that I love him!" she whispered. As Lucy's dying concentration and awareness failed her, her eyes held onto the man in the corner. She saw his head shoot up, looking in her direction. Her brown eyes met dark blue eyes staring back at her. But what caught her eyes the most, was the salmon pink hair peaking through the hood's shadows. It was pink hair...like Natsu's?

Slowly, her body still and went limp, staring into the swirling eyes of blue dragging her into a daze. Small lines of pale blue swam like a fish in his eyes, slowly joining up until it made a shape. The shape of a magic circle. Lucy could only stare as the little circle in his eyes glow. Everything about Jeadou and everything that happened was slowly fading from her. Her brain was forcing herself to remember, and as she did, she slowly forgot. It was like watching a movie except as soon as you watched one scene, it was deleted.

"Please..." she uttered weakly, feeling herself slowly lose herself in his eyes. "Don't let me forget it...not when I... just realised... I...love him." And that was it. The memories slipped loose from her head, she remembered nothing and felt her body slacken and her consciousness fail as she was thrown into a dark ignorance.

 

 


	19. The Complexity of Snowflakes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shadows draws to a close in the final chapter. Natsu and Lucy attend the Winter ball, and their memories are gone, but suspicious people still linger.

Diamond chandeliers twinkled, velvet blue curtains hung over the three-story windows masked by darkness, music slipped and danced through the air. Dresses and suits paired and twirled on the dance floor. People grouped near the food stands with traditional, donated and some magnificent Magnolian food with a cool blue theme. Grand white stair cases curled around the dance floor to a wide balcony stretching out over the entire hall."It's beautiful." Lucy breathed, leaning on her arms, looking down at the lively dancing couples.

"Yeah." Levy sighed, looking dreamily next to her. Her head rolled onto her other arm, turning towards Lucy. "Shall we go down?"

"You go on ahead; I'll be down in a bit." Lucy smiled, her gaze still watching the people moving beneath her. Her chocolate brown eyes looked down onto the dance floor, but her mind was somewhere else.

"Okay, I'll see you down there." Levy nodded, moving past the blonde with a gentle tap on the shoulder. Lucy watched as Levy approached the staircase. Her brown eyes caught the head of the suited iron dragon slayer turn towards her. He seemed to be stunned in his place as Levy slowly moved down the stairs. From the bright blush on her face, Lucy could tell that she was self-conscious and embarrassed, but she still moved gracefully down towards her date. She was surprised Gajeel finally plucked up the courage to ask her to the ball. Although it was in a roundabout way, something like he'll take her because he had nothing else to do. It was a pretty poor lie, even for him. Not that it matter, Gajeel had probably accepted that everyone knew about his and Levy's feelings.

Levy's white gloved hand gracefully slid down the ivory banister. Blue hair tied into a bun with long curling pieces falling down, grazed her pale collar bone. An ocean blue dress hugged her slim curves, with a long split sliding up her thigh. Thrills curls around the slit edge spreading out into a trail at the bottom of her feet. 2 inch white heels matched the white lily pinned up into her bun on top of her head. She looked beautiful, Lucy had to admit, and Gajeel seemed to notice it too.

When she reached the bottom of the stairs, Gajeel stretched out his arm which Levy shyly took and they moved into the sea of people onto the dance floor.

Lucy watched them sway at the slow song for a little while before drifting back into her lost world. The sounds of people muttering about a collapsed smithy in the town faded into a faint inaubdiable mumble. Ever since last week, her mind was numb. She had done nothing for the past few weeks; just averagely spending her day at the guild with everyone. Even so, her heart ached ever since she had woken up a few days ago. She didn't know why, but there were tears down her cheeks and every time she went to bed she would wake up the same; crying. It felt like there was a hole in her heart, but at the same time, she felt relieved. Still, she couldn't help but notice the nagging feeling at the back of her mind telling her something was missing. Not to mention, every time there was a full moon her magic began to tingle in her fingers, which was weird.

"Are you alone, Miss?" A rusted voice spoke behind her. Lucy stood up and turned. A tall man with broad shoulders dressed in a tuxedo with a long hanging tie stood behind her. Long silver hair fell down around his sharp, wide face holding eyes the color of dirty ice. A pang echoed in her chest and she dismissed it.

"Ah, no. I'm here with friends." Lucy replied with a smile. Her 'friends' (Natsu and Happy), however, were apparently having more fun clearing the table of food.

"I'm sure your friends wouldn't mind if I steal you for one dance?" He replied, moving in to sweep up her hand. His hand was grazed with a faint shine of scars twirling like tattoos around his skin. It hit something deep inside of her, recognizing the scars. But she was pulled along too quick to think any more about it. Normally, Lucy probably would have pulled back and told him to dance with someone else, besides the fact he was old and not her type. However, she didn't. There was a sort of trust inside her that let him sweep her away.

Natsu pulled up a chair besides Happy, pulling chicken legs and cake and vegetables from all over the buffet tables, stuffing their face. People had to dip in and out as quickly as they could to just get food.

"This food's great!" Happy mumbled his mouth full of fish. "Oo! Salmon, my favorite!"

"Your right Happy!" Natsu replied in the same manner, his hand launching forwards towards a salmon before grilling it in his palms until it was charred black.

Just as he reached forward for something else, something caught the corner of his eyes. A figure in black moved through his peripheral vision. He whirled on them with eyes alight. Whoever he was, had already disappeared. Natsu wasn't sure, but he could swear the man had pink hair. Someone with pink hair other than him? Whoever it was peaked something deep within his curiosity.

"What's up, Natsu?" Happy grumbled, reaching forward towards the dragon slayers plate.

"No one…I think." Natsu replied, turning back on the cat. "HEY THAT'S MY FISH!" Natsu yelled diving on the thieving blue cat, until they were playing tug of war with the fish.

Suddenly, some people stopped and turned, looking up towards the left wing stairs. Natsu noticed in the corner of his eyes, turning to follow their line of sight and the fish slipped free from his hands. Happy tumbled backwards off the edge of the snow-themed table. Immediately, he was back on his feet on top of the table with scornful eyes. "What's everyone staring at?" Happy said, just as they turned.

"Is that…Luce?" Natsu uttered, his food falling from his mouth, knocked into awe.  
Long blonde hair fell down in silky curls over her bare pale back. Pearl earrings and matching necklace fell over her collar bone and glistened in her ears. Pure white material clung like a bodice to her chest with glittering jewels twinkling like stars in the light. White feathers swept down towards the pale blue carpet, so pure and flawless like angel wings.

"Everyone's staring." Lucy muttered, feeling the hot burn of a blush that Lucy assumed was similar to what Levy was feeling. Except, it wasn't just a few people like with Levy, it was almost everyone. Blonde hair was quickly drawn in front of her face to hide her glowing cheeks as they managed to conquer the last few steps. As the man lead her into the middle of the dance floor, with people moving back on either side, he took her other hands and twirled her into his rhythm to the music.

After a few more moments, the other people moved forwards, back into their own affairs. It felt like a wall of people had surrounded them but at the same time she was completely ignorant. There was something about the man leading her that felt so familiar. "Who are you?" Lucy blurted out accidentally. The silver-haired man turned onto her softly, with a weak, sad smile.

"My name is Isaac." His reply was almost flawless, but there was something about that felt a little fake. "So," Isaac continued. "Are you having fun?"

"Yeah, I suppose I am." Lucy replied with mild concentration, her eyes seem to flutter to her friends spotted throughout the ball. She gave a soft smile, happy to see them safe with their very own smiles on their face. Lately, she had noticed herself feeling a lot closer to all her guild mates, and she seemed to be satisfied with just being with them. How strange.

"I see. In that case, my work here is done." Isaac smiled. "I hope you find that hand, Lucy." His grip disappeared from Lucy's waist and hand, but as soon as she turned towards him, he was gone. There was no trace of him left, although he had only parted a second ago. Lucy rested her hand against her collar, and felt a stone pressed against it. As she looked down she saw her necklace she thought she had lost around her neck. How did it get there? Was it that man? Who was he? Lucy didn't know, but she had a feeling she wouldn't see him again.

"His work?" Lucy uttered, her eyes fluttering after him. Something trickled onto her hand, and as she looked down a droplet of water raced across her skin. Was there a leak? As she looked up, she saw nothing. "Huh..." Lucy muttered, touching her chin in thought. She realised it was damp and her hand was pressed quickly against her cheek. A damp line ran down from her eyes towards her chin, where a single tear had run across it. She was crying?

Suddenly, Lucy felt lonely in the crowd. The hole in her chest ached a little more and the noise at the back of her head rattled a little louder. There was something important she was forgetting about, something painful but something important, but she couldn't quiet reach it.

"LUCY!" A loud, annoying and all too familiar voice bellowed. From the sea of the ground, a tall pink hair boy came flying through and crashed straight into her.

"NATSU!" Lucy screeched, pulling him off her despite his refusing strength to let go of her. "GET OFF ME!" Natsu let out a mischievous giggle, and stepped back with his adoring grin. Lucy's eyes narrowed into a pointed stare and then she let them soften. "What were you doing? You look like a mess." Lucy grumbled, reaching forwards to fix his crooked bow tie and collar.

"Luce?" Natsu muttered. Lucy turned her head up, meeting his dark black eyes. They stared at her like glass with a knowing gleam that caught her breath. Suddenly, her heart squeezed in her chest and burst into a sprint. A hot blush burned on her cheeks even worse than before. Their closeness became all too obvious to her. Lucy drew back but Natsu took a step forwards.

"W- What?" Lucy grumbled, chaining her gaze heavily to the ground.

"Why were you crying?" He asked softly.

"I wasn't." Lucy denied, trying to turn away. Her burning cheek grazed something warm and soft, drawing her back to his face. Natsu's hand cupped her cheek, his dark eyes staring into hers. There was seriousness about his gaze that froze her in place. It was consuming and unwillingly dragging her closer. All her thoughts came to a slow stop, locked in his dark abyss.

Suddenly, his gaze switched back, and his head turned sharply away. Lucy gasped, taking a quick step back. Her breath caught back to her and her heart raced even faster in her chest to the point it almost hurt. What just happened? What was she just about to do? Why couldn't she look away?  
All her mind was spinning in each and every direction that she could barely find her bearings.

"Lucy look!" Natsu suddenly spun back on her.

"W- What?" Lucy snapped, spooked by his interruption in her fluttering thoughts.

"It's snowing." Natsu grinned with the excitement of a child alight in his eyes. "Let's go!" Lucy looked down to see his hand extended out towards her, bearing his smile. There wasn't even a shred of hesitance as she reached forwards. Suddenly, that man's voice resonated in her ears. 'I hope you find that hand, Lucy'. She had no idea what he was talking about, but as her fingers slipped into his warm, big hand, that little missing piece in her heart seemed to swell, and then it was so small it was barely there.

His hand guided her forward, weaving in and out the twirling people like fish in a river. When they finally came to the end, Natsu and Lucy stepped out into the outside. Darkness swallowed up the light ahead of them, cold breezes cut across her skin, music silenced into the night. Lucy slowed to a walk and then a stop, her shoes clicking against the open patio. Magnolia city glowed in the distance from the mansion host of the ball. Grey clouds swallowed up the sky with small cracks, allowing the starlight to twinkle through. "Look!" Natsu called, raising his free hand up and opening his palm. His other warm hand stayed wrapped gently around Lucy's small one. Lucy mimicked him, raising her hand outstretched outwards. Sure enough, a small white snowflake twirled in the breeze, influenced by the weak cold air. It settled into her hand, and turned into a droplet of water almost instantly. As Lucy looked up, thousands of snowflakes began to pour from the sky, settling down like a shower of white on the ground and skin.

Natsu pulled down on his hand, bringing Lucy to his side. His bubble of heat cocooned around her like a weightless blanket. "It's beautiful."

"You wanted it to snow right?" Natsu grinned. Brown eyes watched his face curiously. She thought back through her memories, and realised she didn't remember ever telling Natsu she wished it would snow. However, the familiar but foreign memory of Natsu and Lucy looking out into the cold sky from her warm bedroom window bristled in her vision, although she couldn't recall anything of the like happening. As far as she knew, Natsu was just guess, or he knew her just that well. Either way, Lucy couldn't help but smile.

"Natsu," Lucy spoke. Just as Natsu turned his head towards her, a soft warm peck caught his lips. It was quick and sudden but it froze Natsu in his place like ice. Lucy lowered herself down from her tiptoes, staring up at him with big warm eyes that seemed to swallow him whole. His blood was on fire pounding through his veins. His heart was racing rapidly in his chest. And his whole body tingled with energy. But at the moment, he was only vaguely aware of his body. All he could see was Lucy. "Thank you." She whispered with a gentle smile.

"F- for what?" He mumbled, regaining himself and turning away. His face was beat red, and he was hot with embarrassment, but his eyes continuously strayed towards her face. A small pink blush was on her cheeks, but they could just be red from the cold. Natsu's head was too dull to think of anything.

"I'm not sure; I just had a feeling I had to thank you." Lucy spoke softly. Her brown eyes trailed down her arms to his hands, where the faint glimmer of the scars decorated his skin. It wasn't noticeable if you weren't looking for it. But Lucy knew exactly what to look for. She didn't know why or how they got there, but at the same time, something inside of her told her everything she needed. It warmed her inside, the way you recognised yourself. They were a part of them both somehow. She had seen them on Erza and Gray as well, but it wasn't the same.

"In that case, thanks, Luce!" Natsu turned to her with a bright smile.

"What for?" Lucy asked, surprised by the twist in conversation. Natsu's grin softened into a distant smile. He slung his arm over her shoulder, pulling her into a close side hug.

"Everything." Natsu replied confidentially. Lucy was stunned for a small moment, but settled quickly into his arms, overlooking the snow falling like feather-white stars.

"And what are you two doing?" A voice appeared behind them.

Natsu and Lucy leapt apart, their faces a burning red. Gray, in his slick black and white tuxedo, looked between them suspiciously, and Erza, in a royal blue dress that stuck close to the curves of her body, came up beside him. She gave them both a small grin, and eyes that told them she knew something. They both waited for something to come, but nothing did. Erza simple moved up beside them and looked over the view through the veil of falling snow. "What a pretty sight." She said.

Gray seemed oblivious, and moved with a pale shade to his face.

"What's up with you, ice princess?" Natsu grinned.

"What about you, matchstick!" Gray retorted groundlessly, clashing head with the pink-haired boy.

"Some silver-haired man started dancing with Gray." Erza said to Lucy. "Something about Gray being cute or something."

"I wonder if that's the same guy I danced with earlier. I had a feeling he wasn't quiet straight." As soon as the words left her mouth, Gray fell into a blue depression, muttering something about _'why do men...always with?'_ Lucy added, watching Gray's face turn beat red. "Although he seemed like the tsundere type and probably bully the person they liked. Maybe he liked you, Gray." Lucy added, watching Gray's face turn beat red.

"So, what were you two doing?" Erza cut in like a knife, glancing between Natsu and Lucy. They both took on Gray's approach of turning tomato red. Erza laugh with Natsu, Gray and Lucy each trying to desperately explain their situations, simultaneously embarrassing themselves more.

Their chatter floated up the three story walls towards the roofs. The two figures sat on top, one with long grey hair leaning over. He slipped free of his loose black tie and pushed it deep into his pockets. "I never like these types of events." He grumbled.

"You weren't supposed to go in, Silver." Another man grumbled, a white cloak fell over his shoulders; the hood drew back over his shoulders. Short pink hair rustled in the strong rooftop breeze, dampened by the falling snow.

"Neither were you." Silver retorted. The other man silenced.

"I was just making sure they didn't remember anything." The other man finally replied, his gaze cast aside for a flicker of a moment of the edge of the rooftop. They touched over the pink haired boy and his friends laughing happily in the falling snow.

"You mean you checked on junior." Silver said with a sly smile.

"I wouldn't get any ideas, Silver." The man growled.

"Don't worry, O _ne_. I would do no such thing." Silver waved him off, leaning over the building edge. "I'm just glad we finally got him."

"Aren't you satisfied? You repented for your sins afterall." One suggested.

" _Satisfied?_ " Silver scoffed. "I doubt I'll be anything of the sort. There's no way I can repent for what I did to that girl or all those people."

"It was our fault. We were the ones who made you infiltrate Jeadou's schemes, to befriend him, so we could take him down. We had no idea it would be so long." One corrected him. "We also had no idea it would lead to Layla's daughter."

"So I suppose you got one reward after everything." Silver muttered.

"After Layla went missing twenty years ago, we thought we would never find her." One said, turning the edges of his cloak against the push of the wind.

"Who would have guessed both yours and hers would end up together like so. I suppose leaving him with your old dragon friend didn't quiet have the isolated effect you were looking for." Silver chuckled, watching Natsu and Lucy below him with a gentle smile. One ignored Silver's comment and pressed forwards.

"I never thought she would have a child, after everything the profit said." One said, his blue eyes hazed with memories of the long forgotten past.

" _'A child born under six stars and one moon, of humble home, hair blonde as gold, eyes as warm as chocolate, and skin as fair as snow and heart as rare as painite. But beneath the beauty is an old and omnipotent light tempted to be smothered by darkness with the power to change the world as we know it.'_ " Silver recited. "Layla had six keys at the that time and the date shows that Lucy was born under a full moon at midnight; the moon's highest point, right? I suppose if it was fate there was no escaping it."

"I maybe you're right." One agreed softly, raking a hand through his soft pink hair. "All we can really do is at least protect it from being smothered by darkness."

"A power to change the world, huh?" Silver sighed, rising to his feet, swinging his jacket over his shoulder. "I think the real question is will it change for the better...or the worst?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That's the end for Shadows. Although Lucy and Natsu may have forgotten what's happened, deep inside it seems their feelings can't forget. Everyone's happy and were able to go to the ball. Jeadou was arrested.  
> However, Silver and the mysterious One, talk of a foreboding message. Could that be what's in stock for Lucy's future and what's hidden in her past? Well, maybe in another story...


End file.
